Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from S. McCartney, V. McFarlane-Reid, R. Mitcheson and H. Snowdon.

Minutes of the meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board held on Thursday, 10 August 2023 as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair. 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board held on 10 August 2023, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required where a matter arises at a meeting;

a.    Which directly relates to Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (‘DPI’) as set out in Appendix B, Table 1 of the Code of Conduct, to disclose the interest, not participate in any discussion or vote and not to remain in room. Where members have a DPI or if the matter concerns an executive function and is being considered by a Cabinet Member with a DPI they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with the matter.

b.    Which directly relates to the financial interest or well being of a Other Registrable Interest as set out in Appendix B, Table 2 of the Code of Conduct to disclose the interest and only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting but otherwise must not take part in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not remain the room.

c.    Which directly relates to their financial interest or well-being (and is not DPI) or the financial well being of a relative or close associate, to declare the interest and members may only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak. Otherwise, the member must not take part in discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room.

d.    Which affects the financial well-being of the member, a relative or close associate or a body included under the Other Registrable Interests column in Table 2, to disclose the interest and apply the test set out at paragraph 9 of Appendix B before deciding whether they may remain in the meeting.

e.    Where Members have or a Cabinet Member has an Other Registerable Interest or Non Registerable Interest in a matter being considered in exercise of their executive function, they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with it.

NB Any member needing clarification must contact monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk. Members are referred to the Code of Conduct which contains the matters above in full. Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter

Peter Standfield declared an interest as he was an employee of a not for profit provider of residential and supported accommodation for the elderly.

To present the new Northumberland and North Tyneside Community Infection Prevention and Control Strategy 2023-28 and seek approval for the strategy goals and actions to achieve those goals.  The report will be presented by Dr. Jim Brown, Consultant in Public Health.

Members received a presentation and report about the new Northumberland and North Tyneside Community Infection Prevention and Control Strategy 2023-28.  Approval was sought for the strategy goals and actions to achieve those goals.  The report was presented by Dr. Jim Brown, Consultant in Public Health and Heather Lawson, Senior Infection Prevention & Control Nurse.

The following key points were raised:-

•       The Strategy had been developed collaboratively with organisations across Northumberland and North Tyneside and aimed to minimise preventable harmful infections in community settings and to be as prepared as possible for any future infections or pandemics.

•       A new Covid variant, Pirola, had emerged and there were cases in care homes in the east of England.

•       The 2023 National Risk Register indicated the possibility of another pandemic within the next five years.

•       The objectives of the Strategy aimed to identify the current position in community settings, identifying goals, how to achieve those goals and how to monitor achievement of the goals.

•       The Strategy would cover the adult care sector, education, general practice and children’s residential homes.

•       The Strategy Group would review guidance and practice, hold focus groups and surveys and look at data from previous surveys, audits and visits.

•       Currently, there were 4.8 WTE staff working in the community covering Northumberland and North Tyneside.  The team offered training, direct support, collaborative working and audit.

•       Key findings included:-

•       There was a lot of guidance available along with opportunities for additional training.

•       Cost and time were barriers in education and general practice.

•       Many staff felt the need to come to work even if they were unwell with an infection.

•       The team was highly respected and good relationships had developed during the pandemic.

•       A survey of educational settings and GP staff had identified a number of barriers including cost of training and not all feeling the need for training.

•       Vision – ‘Our vision is for all health, care and education professionals working in the community to have the capability, opportunity, and motivation to implement infection prevention and control measures in their setting to protect those who use their services or live, work, or study in the settings.’

•       Principals – to work as a whole system, work as partners to maximise the impact of the IPC by prioritising the deployment of the team, build resilience and capacity within the community by supporting and training key professionals.

•       A series of goals had been identified, along with how they would be achieved and monitored.

The following comments and queries were raised:-

•       There was concern raised about the possible shortage of Covid vaccinations in Northumberland and GPs would have to cancel clinics if this was the case.  It was noted that it was hoped to complete vaccination of care home residents by the end of October and so supplies may be spread over a number of weeks.  There were no issues with flu jab supplies.

•       It was suggested that a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To receive a report updating the Board on progress with the Health Weight Alliance.  The report will be presented by David Turnbull.

Members received a report updating the Board on progress with the Healthy Weight Alliance (HWA).  The report was presented by David Turnbull, Senior Public Health Manager.

David Turnbull reported that the Health Weight Alliance had arisen from a recommendation in the 2021/22 Director of Public Health Annual Report.  Work on the Alliance had commenced prior to the Covid pandemic but been paused. 

Nearly a third of children and two thirds of adults in Northumberland were overweight or obese.  Children were becoming obese earlier and for longer.  The Covid pandemic and the link to health inequalities, chronic disease and obesity were risk factors and it was important for Northumberland to build resilience into recovery plans as part of the prevention agenda.  The current cost of living crisis was creating additional strain particularly for low-income families leading to the purchase of cheaper foods often with low nutritional value.

In May 2023, work on the Healthy Weight Alliance had recommenced with a Workshop attended by 45 delegates with a range of strategic roles within a range of various organisations.  Five strategic themes had been identified:-

•       System Leadership

•       Commercial Determinants

•       Health Promoting Environments

•       System and Cultural Change

•       Health Weight across the Life course.

Feedback from the workshop included:-

•       Development of a food strategy for Northumberland.

•       Design and development of where we live to maximise access to healthy foods and be physically active.

•       Giving every child the best start in life.

Next Steps

•       To host a second workshop to feedback to delegates and agree the priorities. 

•       The Healthy Weight Alliance would be chaired by Paul Jones, Director of Environment and Transport and membership would be drawn from senior staff from organisations across Northumberland.

Members welcomed the report which coincided with the refresh of the Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy and inequalities work.  It was hoped that when the Healthy Weight Alliance reported back to the Health & Wellbeing Board, it would be able to present some tangible changes.  It was noted that longer term goals would include improvements to the built environment.

RESOLVEDthat

(1)    the establishment of Northumberland HWA be approved to bring agencies and communities together to ensure a co-ordinated approach to healthy weight.

(2)    the Northumberland HWA report to the Health & Wellbeing Board.

(3)    Responsibility be delegated to the HWA to deliver the Healthy Weight Declaration.

To receive a report and presentation on CNTW’s new strategy ‘With You in Mind’.  The report will be presented by Sheree McCartney, Group Nurse Director North Locality and Anna Foster, Trust Lead for Strategy and Sustainability.

Members received a report and presentation on CNTW’s new strategy ‘With You in Mind’.  The report was presented by Anna Foster, Trust Lead for Strategy and Sustainability.

The following key issues were raised in a presentation:-

•       CNTW’s strategy was to build relationships and to make decisions based on what matters to people.

•       CNTW was a large organisation and covered more than just mental health issues including mental wellbeing, learning disability, and autism.  Secure services were provided in Morpeth.

•       People and their needs were at the heart of the strategy which aimed to influence small, everyday decisions as well as big strategic decisions.  The strategy was a guide rather than a blueprint.  The organisation acknowledged that it could not do this on its own.

•       The Strategy comprised:

•       Our commitments

•       Our vision and values

•       Our five strategic ambitions

•       Quality care, every day

•       Person-led care, where and when it is needed

•       A great place to work

•       Sustainable for the long term, innovating every day

•       Working with and for our communities

•       Community Mental Health Transformation across the Region.  A strategic objective from the CNTW Annual Plan was ‘Improve community mental health services for adults and older people.

•       Working with the government and ICBs.  Aim to prevent people from being admitted to hospital and to remain within the community.

The following comments were made:-

•       An issue for CNTW was that it covered a very large area across the North East and this could cause challenges in getting to know its communities unless there was staff who concentrated on a particular area. 

•       CNTW was locality based with four different localities.  Local leadership was important, and the Trust’s approach was having a devolved leadership approach.  Trust leads had the authority to adapt services to meet the needs of the local community.

•       There would be a public mental health update at the November meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

RESOLVED that the ethos and ambition of the Trust’s new strategy be noted, in particular, the commitment to partnership working across the Health & Social Care system.

To note/discuss details of forthcoming agenda items at future meetings; the latest version is enclosed.

Members noted details of forthcoming agenda items at future meetings.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, 12 October 2023, at 10.00 a.m. at County Hall, Morpeth. 

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, 12 October 2023, at 10.00 am in County Hall, Morpeth.