Agenda and minutes

          The Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2015 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

The minutes of the Health and Wellbeing Board meetings held on 16 September 2015 and 4 November 2015 were submitted to the Board for information.

The Board considered a report from the Director of Public Health, which informed them of the local action to address the ‘Ten questions Council scrutiny can ask about men’s health’ report. 

Members were advised that in Autumn 2014 the Men’s Health Forum, a national charity that worked to improve the health of men and boys, undertook an assessment of 147 Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA).  They looked at whether JSNA’s included gendered data and after looking at 54 measures in detail, they concluded that the majority of JSNA’s included only limited data by gender.

It was noted that Halton’s JSNA was ranked 13 out of 147 JSNA’s which was the second highest in the North West, with 50% of its JSNA assessed as gendered.  It was commented that whilst Halton was ranked highly, it was important that the JSNA continued to improve.

Appended to the report were the ten questions referred to above and the answers in relation to Halton which included some detailed data on life expectancy and identified the gaps and made comparisons locally and nationally.

Further to Members’ queries, the following was noted:

·       Men did not generally visit the GP; it was mainly women;

·       There were specific age groups in males that did go to the GP; namely children or older males;

·       Women were catching up to men with regards to being diagnosed with diseases; in the case of lung cancer this was in fact more common in women now than men;

·       Cancers diagnosed in stages one and two were treatable;

·       The implementation of health checks in companies is something that had been thought of and was happening;

·       The connection between mental health and domestic abuse was recognised and therapies were being encouraged; however it was a difficult task to get men to use the services and it can be seen as a sign of weakness.

RESOLVED:  That the Board notes the report. 

The Board received a report from the Strategic Director, People and Economy, which requested the identification of a scrutiny topic for the Health Policy and Performance Board to examine during 2016-17.

In order to assist with the identification of topics, the Topic Selection Checklist was attached at Appendix 1 of the report.  Members favoured a topic around the carers, although prevention was also suggested. 

RESOLVED: That the Board agrees that the Scrutiny Topic to be examined during 2016-17 is carers; and that the associated topic brief be developed and agreed at the next meeting of the Board.

The Board received a report from the Director of Adult Services which informed them of the work of the Halton Older People’s Empowerment Network (OPEN) in the Borough. 

The Chairman welcomed Richard Ashworth – the Vice Chairman and acting Chairman of Halton OPEN (Older People’s Empowerment Network) and Karen Kenny – Age UK Mid Mersey, who presented the work of Halton OPEN to the Board.

It was noted that since its establishment in 2002 its membership had grown to over one thousand people. Further, Halton OPEN was now supported by a part time development officer who was employed by Age UK Mid Mersey.  Members were advised that their aim for 2016 would be to continue to engage with their members and develop relationships with the Local Authority and Health establishments to the benefit and needs of older people in the Borough.

The Commissioning Manager for Older People then continued and presented to Members the results of two surveys carried out by Halton OPEN to gain the views of local older people.  One was carried out in Widnes and one in Runcorn and 108 people in total completed the survey.  The main concerns for older people were identified as financial worries; loneliness and isolation; community transport; and loss of independence.  Also identified from the surveys were the services that could be improved upon and which services were the most important and had the biggest impact on the lives of older people.

Members discussed the difficulties identified above and thanked Halton OPEN for their information gathering which would be useful for the Board.  It was noted that the exercise would be repeated next year with the aim to increase the number of respondents.  The Board was advised that two newsletters had been produced by Halton OPEN last year, which would be sent to Members for information.  Members also requested to see the survey questions.

RESOLVED:  That the Board notes the report.

The Board received a report from the Director of Adult Social Services which outlined the circumstances around ‘Additional Payments’ (Top-Ups) made by people who choose to pay extra for an enhancement to their home accommodation. 

It was noted that such additional payments could be made by individuals whose care home costs were partially or totally supported by the Council, or who were self-funders with Halton arranging their social care.

Members were referred to the The Care Act – Additional Payments for Accommodation in Residential Care – Policy, Procedure and Practice 2015-17 document; which was appended to the report.

RESOLVED:  That the Board agrees the contents of the report.

The Board received the Performance Management Reports for quarter 2 of 2015-16.

It was noted that the report introduced, through the submission of a structured thematic performance report, the progress of key performance indicators, milestones and targets relating to Health in quarter 2 of 2015-16.  This included a description of factors which were affecting the service.

Members were referred to Appendix 1 of the report which contained a progress update concerning the implementation of all Directorate high-risk mitigation measures that were relevant to the remit of this Board.

RESOLVED:  That the quarter 2 priority based performance management reports be received.