Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 20^th January 2021 having been circulated were signed as a correct record.

            The Board received an update report from Ifeoma Onyia, on behalf of the Director of Public Health, on the Public Health response to Covid-19. The Board received information on the most recent coronavirus figures for Halton in comparison to the North West, how the Halton outbreak support team were working to successfully identify and manage local outbreaks, and the most recent testing and vaccination data for people in Halton.

            The Board thanked the Public Health team for their work in response to Covid-19.

            RESOLVED: That the update be noted.

            The Board received a report of the Director of Public Health, which provided an update on Halton’s position on Complex Outbreak Management and the associated Local Outbreak Management Plan Refresh. It was noted that the Government had previously requested individual Covid-19 Outbreak Plans for complex settings to be developed by all councils; the deadline for these was 30 June 2020.  The Board was advised that the Plan had now been refreshed and was out for consultation with partners.

            Alongside the Local Outbreak Management Plan, a Halton Roadmap had been developed which outlined how the Authority wanted services within the Council to support recovery out of lock down and beyond. A copy of the Roadmap had been previously circulated to the Board.

            In addition, the Board also noted the following initiatives which had taken place:

·         Halton was part of Public Health England and Local Authorities Senior Leaders Cheshire & Warrington and Liverpool City Region Workshops for Roadmap and Recovery;

·         Cheshire and Merseyside had developed the Combined Intelligence for Population Health Recovery data lake;

·         A Cheshire and Merseyside Contact Tracing and Outbreak Support Hub had been developed; and

·         Halton was part of the Liverpool City Region SMART Testing Pilot.

RESOLVED: That the briefing on Halton’s Local Outbreak Management Plan Refresh 2021 be noted.

            The Board received an update report on the progress of the local Covid-19 vaccination programme for the Borough. Board Members were provided with information on what vaccines were available, how the vaccine was rolled out, the delivery model, who can have the vaccine and the current vaccine uptake including an update on the current issues and achievements to date.

            In order to support the system vaccine delivery across Halton, a Steering Group met twice a week. The Group included representation from all key interested parties from across the system, including partners from the borough council, NHS providers, public health, commissioners and voluntary sector.

            The Board thanked everyone involved in the successful delivery of the Halton Vaccination Programme.

            RESOLVED: That

1.    the report be noted; and

2.    the positive rapid escalation of plans and system wide response is recognised and praised.

            The Board received a presentation from Kath Parker on behalf of Healthwatch Halton. Members were advised on the work of the organisation which included obtaining, collating and supplying feedback from local residents for variety of organisations on a number of initiatives including the proposed Health Hub at Shopping City and the Covid-19 vaccination programme and also contributing to Healthwatch England’s reports.

            On behalf of the Board, the Chair thanked Kath Parker for her presentation and for the work of Healthwatch Halton.

            RESOLVED: That the presentation be noted.

The Board considered a report from the Clinical Chief Officer NHS Halton CCG and the Director of Strategy, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals (WHTH) NHS Foundation Trust (FT) on the creation of a ‘Health Hub’, delivering some outpatient hospital services from Runcorn Shopping City.

It was reported that a partnership between WHTH NHS FT, Halton Borough Council and the Liverpool City Region (LCR) had developed a plan to utilise unused retail space in Runcorn Shopping City to deliver a number of clinical services.  The presentation outlined the context, the progress made to date and the pre-consultation engagement work to date, including response rates and themed outcomes.

The next steps in the process included a full public consultation exercise between 7^th May and 18^th June with the results published in July 2021.

In addition, the Board received a brief update on the proposed relocation of the breast screening service, which was moving from Warrington to Halton whilst retaining a service in Warrington. The consultation period for this proposal was 28^th May to 8^th July 2021.

RESOLVED: That

1.    the report be noted; and

2.    the Board receives the proposal to begin formal consultation proceedings following local elections in May.

            The Board considered a progress report on the Principal Social Worker (PSW) role and responsibilities. It was noted that Marie Lynch had held this role for over five years since it was first introduced for Adult Services in Halton.

            The report highlighted areas of progress achieved by the PSW during the past year, which included:

·         Maintaining her professional registration;

·         Supporting Social Work staff to renew their registration and completing the Professional Capability Framework in November 2020;

·         Supporting staff throughout the challenges of Covid-19 and assisting with the challenges for staff post Covid-19;

·         Establishing an employee standards steering group;

·         Assisting with an Organisational Health Check Survey;

·         Improving practice supervision arrangements; and

·         Ensuring reflective practice supervision was taking place across the authority.

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health, which advised on the publication of the next Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) that covered 2021-2024. It was noted that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had announced that due to all current pressures across all sectors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the requirement to publish renewed PNA had been suspended until April 2022. Local Health and Wellbeing Boards retained the ability to issue supplementary statements to respond to local changes and pharmaceutical needs during this time.

            The Board was provided with an update on the current position and were requested to write to the Local Government Association (LGA) asking them to act on their behalf to request the DHSC to grant a further postponement of the PNA.

            RESOLVED: That the Board write to the LGA detailing their concerns about the requirement to start the PNA process and ask that they lobby the DHSC for a further postponement.

            The Board considered a report which provided a summary update on the key elements outlined in the Government White Paper – Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all – February 2021. The legislative proposals were due to be implemented in 2022 and were themed under the following headings:

·         Working together and supporting integration;

·         Reducing bureaucracy;

·         Improving accountability and enhancing public confidence; and

·         Proposals grouped as Social Care, Public Health and Safety and Quality.

            Alongside the White Paper, NHS England had issued Legislating for Integrated Care Systems: five recommendations to Government and Parliament, details of which were set out in the report. As part of the proposals CCG functions and some NHS England functions would transfer to the new ICS NHS body; this would mean that CCGs would cease to exist when the new legislation came into effect. An employment commitment for NHS staff had been outlined and staff would be employed by the NHS ICS body.

            In addition, the report detailed the impact on Place (One Halton), the commitment for Health and Wellbeing Boards to remain and the next steps which included a One Halton Strategy Workshop on 14^th April.

            RESOLVED: The report be noted.

            The Board considered a report which provided information on the current developments on Integrated Care Systems (ICS) for Cheshire and Merseyside and Halton. An ICS was a system where: NHS bodies (commissioners and providers), local authorities and third sector providers each took collective responsibility for the management of resources, delivering NHS standards and improving the health of the population they served.

            In Cheshire and Merseyside, the Health and Care Partnership (C&MHCP) was working as directed by NHS England, towards formal designation as an ICS by April 2021. As part of this process, the C&MHCP had produced a Memorandum of Understanding. Each of the Local Authorities had been designated “Place” within Cheshire and Merseyside and collectively the nine places made up Cheshire and Merseyside Health & Care Partnership.

            RESOLVED: That the Board

1)    note the current developments on Integrated Care Systems in the attached presentation;

2)    support the development of One Halton as the Integrated Care Partnership for Halton;

3)    agree that the

a.    Halton Health & Wellbeing Board should set the outcomes for Halton

b.    Halton Health PPB provide scrutiny of the work of the HWBB, its officers and partners and the C&M Health Care Partnership

c.    Halton Council CEO be nominated the ‘Place Lead’ for Halton;

4)    delegate to the CEO responsibility to engage with the Partnership and One Halton partners, to develop:

a.    A shared Vision and Plan for reducing inequalities and improving health outcomes for Halton, based on a revised JSNA

b.    Defined neighbourhood footprints and arrangements for the delivery of integrated health and care ‘at Place’, (recognising the importance of clinically-led PCNs working, with adult and children social care, community, mental health, public health and voluntary / community groups)

c.    Arrangements for the delivery of acute and specialist provision ‘at Scale’

d.    Operating arrangements

e.    Structures

f.     Governance

5)    support a programme of public and stakeholder engagement.

7^th July 2021

6^th October 2021

19^th January 2022

23^rd March 2022

            The following dates of future Health and Wellbeing Board Minutes were circulated to the Board. All meetings would be held at 2pm.

7^th July 2021

6^th October 2021

19^th January 2022

23^rd March 2022

            RESOLVED: That the dates of future meetings be noted.

At the conclusion of the meeting on behalf of the Board, David Parr, announced that this was Councillor Polhill’s last meeting as Chair as he was standing down as Leader of the Council following the May elections. He thanked Councillor Polhill for his contribution and leadership of the Board.