Minutes:
The
Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health, Public Protection and
Digital Inclusion, Cllr David Coupe, was in attendance to update the Board on his
aims and aspirations, progress made to date and to highlight any emerging
issues relating to his portfolio.
The
Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration, the Director of Public
Health (South Tees) and the Director of Legal and Democratic Services were also
in attendance. The Executive Member opened by thanking the Board for the invite
and advised that he would highlight some of the key areas he had been working
on, as well as some of the emerging issues relating to his portfolio. During the
presentation the following key points were made:-
·
In terms of the
broader context it was advised that it was becoming an increasingly challenging
local environment for staff within these service areas, as they were dealing
with increasingly complex “chaotic” users of services, the impact of the
increasing cost of living and the on-going impact of COVID-19. They were
managing these challenges in the context of the current financial restrictions
for both the Council and for partner organisations. There was also uncertainty
around the impact and resourcing of central government’s reforms of Adult
Social Care (charging reforms and changes to the ways in which care providers
are funded – would they go ahead and how would they be funded?).
·
It was advised
that plans were in place for the commencement of CQC inspections of Adult
Social Care from 2023 and the Council was connecting into the emerging
Integrated Care Board (ICB) work programme in order to support the delivery of
shared aspirations to reduce health inequalities and improve population health.
In addition the delivery of the
national drugs strategy “From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime
and save lives” was also high on the agenda.
·
The Executive
Member highlighted the on-going work and key current issues in which he was
involved and all of the issues were detailed in his PowerPoint presentation,
which had been shared with Members and was available via the modern.gov
system.
Following
the presentation Members of the Board were afforded the opportunity to ask
questions and the following queries were raised:-
·
In response to a
query regarding the monies received by the Council during the pandemic for the
provision of workforce support in Care Homes it was advised that the Council
had developed a mechanism to disperse the funding, which had been monitored
through the contracting and commissioning teams. The Member was advised that if
the question could be submitted in writing a detailed response in respect of
the figures could be provided.
·
In terms of the
way in which the Council and its partners were responding to the cost of living
crisis it was advised that a multi-agency response was in place and the cold
weather plan would also soon come into effect. The Council was working with the
NHS to identify those at particular risk of being unable to heat their homes
and community warm spaces across the town had been identified. Efforts were
also being made to understand the offer from the Revenue and Benefits Team and
where any professional went into a cold home personalised advice would be
provided. The Live Well Centre in central Middlesbrough would ensure that
people were also supported to connect into other opportunities. It was about
looking at what else could be done to support the individual – addressing
loneliness for example. The Sport England programme funding was being used to
support the initiative to ensure that warm spaces were not simply a place to go
to be warm but that would lead to ongoing connections.
·
In response to a
query it was confirmed that the substance misuse service had been brought back
in-house.
·
Reference was
made to the ending of the Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) programme in
Middlesbrough and Members of the Board expressed the view that the decision by
the Police and Crime Commissioner to withdraw his funding had been really
disappointing. The Executive Member advised that he was extremely supportive of
the programme and still backed it 100 per cent. Unfortunately the Police and
Crime Commissioner had struggled to make the case to fund it, stating that it
was a health issue, and although the Council had funded it for a short period
it was unable to sustain the funding. It was advised that the current patients,
of which there were approximately 10, would continue to be supported and safely
transitioned onto another form of treatment.
·
The Board
expressed dismay that a great service had been lost at a time when there was an
increase in the number of drug related deaths due to overdose. The Executive
Member advised that he would love to find another way to source the programme and
was happy to push as hard as he could for it to be funded. Reference was made
to the funding contributed by Middlesbrough Council to Cleveland Police to
increase the number of Police Officers and whether the PCC’s office could
therefore be asked to contribute to the scheme by the Board.
·
A Member of the
Board advised that the Health Scrutiny had had a similar discussion at its
recent meeting and had determined that it wished to write to the PCC, along
with the Health Secretary and the Home Affairs Select Committee.
Representatives from the Home Affairs Select Committee had recently visited the
HAT scheme in Middlesbrough and had appeared on national television on 11
October 2022 praising the effectiveness of the scheme in terms of the savings
generated in court time and Police time. The Executive Member advised that he
would certainly be supportive of such action and having previously been
Vice-Chair of the Health Scrutiny Panel during its undertaking of a review on
Opioid Dependency all of the evidence he heard had persuaded him that it was an
excellent scheme and he would be very keen to see it continue.
·
Reference was
made to the food hygiene star system and the recent press coverage in relation
to a small number of premises. In response it was advised that there were over
1000 eateries in Middlesbrough and only a very small percent had any problems
identified. Whilst undertaking visits Environmental Health staff did on
occasion experience situations whereby they would need to close a business. However,
Environmental Health staff worked to a legislative framework and depending on
what they found appropriate action would be taken. It was advised that if a
premises received zero stars it was obvious that improvements had to be made
and support would be provided to ensure the premises was brought up to
standard. The Director of Adult Social Care advised that he would be happy to
arrange an all Member Briefing on the Food Hygiene Star System.
·
In response to a
query regarding digital roll out it, it was advised that City Fibre had
recently attend a local community council meeting and advised that it planned
to cover great pockets of the area, although the south of the town was more
complicated. It was anticipated that 5G coverage would be ongoing until 2025
and would cover as much of Middlesbrough as possible.
·
A query was
raised in respect of telephone access to the Registrars Service and the
Monitoring Officer advised that this information would be sought and fed back
to Members following the meeting.
·
In response to a
query on the issue of bed blocking it was advised that this was an issue that
had occupied the most management time over the last 10 years and one which
obscured the complexity of the issue. The sheer volume of people attending
A&E and the availability of resources in the community at the point of
discharge meant it was a multifaceted issue. The Director of Adult Social Care
advised that the Council was working very closely with the Integrated Care
System (ICS), as there was a need to ensure that we worked hand in hand with
GP’s and the ambulance to prevent people ending up in hospital. It was
acknowledged that there was a whole discussion to had on this issue.
The
Chair thanked the Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health, Public
Protection and Digital Inclusion for his comprehensive presentation and
contribution to the meeting.
AGREED as follows:-
1.
That a letter be
written to the Police and Crime Commissioner highlighting the concerns of the
Board in relation to the ending of the Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT)
programme in Middlesbrough.
2.
That an all
Member Briefing on the Food Hygiene Star System be arranged by the Director of
Adult Social Care Services.
Supporting documents: