Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed all those present to the meeting and invited all attendees to introduce themselves.

Cllr Rose substituted for Cllr Reed.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and personal or personal and prejudicial interests.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board, held on 14 September 2020, be approved as a correct record.

Update on the NHS Phase 3 Recovery Plan by the Chief Operating Officer, North Lincolnshire CCG.

The Chief Operating Officer, North Lincolnshire CCG, tabled a report providing the Health and Wellbeing Board with an overview of the final Phase 3 planning submission for the Humber Health and Care system, and setting out the priorities for the remainder of 2020/21 including how the system planned to respond to local challenges and the associated risks.

The Chief Operating Officer described the priorities below:

Accelerating the return to near-normal levels of non-Covid health services, making full use of the capacity available in the ‘window of opportunity’ between now and winter.

Preparation for winter demand pressures, alongside continuing vigilance in the light of further probable Covid spikes locally and possibly nationally.

Doing the above in a way that takes account of lessons learned during the first Covid peak; locks in beneficial changes; and explicitly tackles fundamental challenges including: support for our staff, and action on inequalities and prevention.

The Chief Operating Officer discussed the Recovery Plan in greater detail, outlining current and future actions, and the challenges that were likely to arise.

Resolved – (a) That the Health and Wellbeing Board note the updated phase 3 plan for the Humber Health and Care system and the associated risks, and (b) that the Forward Plan and Forthcoming Actions report be noted.

There were no questions from members of the public.

Report by the Director: Adults and Community Wellbeing

The Director: Adults and Community Wellbeing submitted a report and presentation on the Adult Social care Winter Plan.  The purpose of the report was to:

Inform Health and Wellbeing Board members of the publication of the Department for Health and Social Care policy paper ‘Adult social care: Our COVID-19 winter plan 2020 to 2021’.

Provide assurance that the expectations set out in the Department of Health & Social Care Winter Plan have been incorporated within existing North Lincolnshire integration plans, and

Inform Health and Wellbeing Board members that this approach has been taken in collaboration with people who need care and carers, North Lincolnshire CCG, local NHS organisations, care providers and the voluntary and community sector.

The Director explained that this winter was likely to place unique pressures on the health and care system. COVID-19 would be co-circulating with seasonal flu and other viruses, and transmission may increase over the winter period. These pressures create risks to the health and wellbeing of both people who need care and support and the social care workforce, including unpaid carers and social care providers, which may impact on capacity. As such, it was essential that local partners work closely together to ensure a level of preparedness for the additional pressures that may be faced this winter.

The Director set out the three overarching priorities within the DHSC Winter Plan for holistic support to the sector which were:

Ensuring everyone who needs care or support can get high-quality, timely and safe care throughout the autumn and winter period

Protecting people who need care, support or safeguards, the social care workforce, and carers from infections including COVID-19

Making sure that people who need care, support or safeguards remain connected to essential services and their loved ones, whilst protecting individuals from infections including COVID-19.

The Director then gave a detailed presentation on the Integrated Adults Partnership’s Strategic Commissioning Plan 2020/24.  This set out the integrated approach and commissioning intent in relation to meeting the health and social care needs of the adult population of North Lincolnshire.  The presentation covered all relevant issues, such as workforce development, the Strategic Framework, Organisational Model, and outcomes and priorities.

The Board discussed the Winter Plan and the Strategic Commissioning Plan, highlighting the importance of both in responding to forthcoming challenges, and to ensuring effective services were planned, commissioned, and delivered for local people.

Resolved – (a) That the Health and Wellbeing Board note the requirement for local partners to work together to ensure a preparedness for the additional pressures that adult social care may face this winter, ensuring everyone who needs care or support can get high-quality, timely and safe care throughout the autumn and winter period; (b) that the Health and Wellbeing Board note that the expectations set out in the national winter plan policy have been incorporated within existing North Lincolnshire integration plans, and (c) that the Health and Wellbeing Board encourage the review of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy to incorporate the request of the people with lived  ...  view the full minutes text for item 336.

Report by the Director: Children and Community Resilience.

The Director: Children and Community Resilience submitted a report informing the Health and Wellbeing Board about the Children’s Commissioning Strategy 2020/24.  The Director explained that the commissioning strategy clarified the integrated ‘One Family Approach’ and commissioning intent in relation to health, social care and education for children, young people and families.

The Children’s Commissioning Strategy 2020/24 had been developed through the Integrated Children’s Trust to enable education, health and social care services working with children and families to have a shared understanding and ambition for children in North Lincolnshire. The strategy would form the work of, and be monitored by, the Integrated Children Trust and provide a conduit between the integrated care partnership arrangements and the      Health and Wellbeing Board.

The strategy signalled an intent to work together and integrate both services and commissioning functions where these improve outcomes for children and families and to prioritise those where they        have additional need.

Resolved – That the Health and Wellbeing Board note the North Lincolnshire Children’s Commissioning Strategy 2020/24

Report and Presentation by the Deputy Chief Executive and the Director of Public Health.

The Director of Public Health submitted a report updating the Board on progress on the seven themes within the North Lincolnshire Outbreak Prevention and Management Plan and discussing key areas for focus for the forthcoming period.   The update also outlined North Lincolnshire’s position in relation to risk alert levels and restrictions imposed.

The Director explained that North Lincolnshire Council was committed to working with our local people to keep them safe, well, prosperous and connected. Successful prevention and management of local outbreaks was therefore vital to break the chains of COVID- 19 transmission and enable people to return to and maintain a more normal way of life.

New national restrictions were introduced on 5 November 2020. These new measures would apply nationally for four weeks up to Wednesday 2 December. At the end of the period, the government would look to return to a regional approach based on the latest data. At the point of the national restrictions being introduced North Lincolnshire was in the alert level ‘high’ tier.

The Director stated that North Lincolnshire Council remained the lead organisation for local outbreak prevention and management, within a national framework and with the support of NHS Test and Trace, PHE and other government departments. The North Lincolnshire Outbreak Prevention and Management Plan set out the collaborative and preventive approach and confirmed that key staff continue to monitor case data on a daily basis and target resources as appropriate to prevent and reduce transmission across the area.

The Director then gave updates on each of the seven themes, as outlined within their report, including care homes, educational settings, testing, and contact tracing.

The Board discussed the report, including scenario planning and how care and nursing homes can be supported more efficiently, with the Director responding accordingly.

Resolved – That the Health and Wellbeing Board note the Outbreak Prevention and Management activity as outlined in the report.

Annual Report 2019/20. Report by the Director: Children and Community Resilience.

The Director: Children and Community Resilience submitted a report requesting that the Health and Wellbeing Board note the publication of the Annual Report of Local Arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people 2019/20 and to consider the review in relation to planning, commissioning and budget setting.  The report demonstrated that the Children’s Multi Agency Resilience and Safeguarding (MARS) Local Arrangements:

·         effectively met statutory obligations

·         was effective in providing help and protection to children

·         benefitted from strong and consistent leadership

·         had made good progress against its areas of focus

·         listened and responded to the voices of children and young people

·         had swiftly and confidently responded to the challenges posed by COVID-19

The Director explained that, in North Lincolnshire, children, young people, families and communities were at the heart of what we do and across the partnership. The arrangements were aspirational and committed to improving outcomes for children, so they can achieve their potential and be in their families, in their schools and in their communities.  Through our Children’s MARS Local Arrangements, the overarching aim was to effectively help and protect children and families across the early help and safeguarding system.

There was a statutory requirement to publish an annual report, which set out what has been done as a result of local arrangements and described how effective these arrangements had been in practice.  The 2019/20 annual report had been endorsed by the Children’s MARS Board on behalf of the three safeguarding partners from North Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Humberside Police.  The annual report was then required to be distributed through relevant governance routes across the three safeguarding partner organisations and relevant partnership arrangements also to be considered in relation to planning, commissioning and budget setting.

The annual report provided a review of activity and impacts in respect of Children’s MARS functions, including funding, performance, voice and stakeholder engagement, training, scrutiny and assurance and child safeguarding practice reviews.

 The Board discussed the contents of the annual review and report, asking a number of relevant questions, which the Director responded to.

Resolved – That the Health and Wellbeing Board receive the Annual Report of Local Arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people 2019/20 and consider this where relevant in relation to planning, commissioning and budgets setting processes.

Report by the Director: Partnerships and Governance

The Director: Governance and Partnerships submitted a report requesting that the Health and Wellbeing Board consider possible revisions to the Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that the Board’s governance arrangements are compatible with outbreak management requirements.  The report also contained potential further measures that would ensure that local arrangements are robust, ensure suitable oversight, and minimise the risk of Covid-19 outbreak.

The Director explained that the Health and Wellbeing Board acted as the local member-led and democratically accountable body for local arrangements to prevent outbreaks of Covid-19.  The operational and technical implementation and delivery of the Outbreak Management arrangements is the responsibility of the Health Protection & Outbreak Management Group, which meets weekly.  A number of further proposed measures to strengthen local arrangements were outlined, including the Board meeting more regularly and extending its membership.

Resolved – (a) That the proposed amendments set out in the Memorandum of Understanding be accepted and implemented, and (b) That the Board extend the frequency of its meetings, making such arrangements as necessary.

The Director: Governance and Partnerships confirmed that Board members would be informed of the date of the next meeting in due course.

There was no added item for consideration at this meeting.