Agenda and minutes

          The Minutes of the meeting held on 6 July 2022 having been circulated were signed as a correct record.

The Board received an update report from Nicola Goodwin (One Halton, Senior Programme Manager) on the One Halton Place Based Partnership.  The Integrated Care Systems (ICS) consists of an Integrated Care Board (ICB) and an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) along with at Place level, a Place Based Partnership (PBP).  Locally this is One Halton.

The Health and Care Bill was implemented on 1 July 2022 and all Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) were dissolved as of this date.  The functions previously delivered by Halton CCG were now provided by the ICB which would be known as NHS Cheshire and Merseyside going forward. 

The report set out the senior leadership team and governance structures of One Halton and the workstreams which consist of One Halton Delivery Plan, Digital Strategy, Workforce, Estates and Communication and Involvement.

The Board will be provided with further update reports to ensure they are up-to-date with arrangements as the new system becomes embedded and evolves further.

RESOLVED:  The report be noted. 

          The Board received a presentation from the Director of Public Health, which set out the content of the new combined One Halton and Health and Wellbeing Board Strategy which was adopted as a shared partnership approach following the creation of One Halton.

          The Strategy identified important system priorities and a strategic framework which will be used to develop a delivery plan.  It also outlined the intention to transform and improve the delivery of health care for the people of Halton. 

          RESOLVED:  The report be noted and the Strategy be endorsed.

          The Board received a presentation from the Halton Director, NHS Cheshire & Merseyside regarding the ICP Strategy  The presentation provided the Board with information on the process for developing the ICP Strategy. 

          The Department of Health and Social Care issued guidance over the Summer in relation to publishing an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) Strategy by December 2022.  This would be updated again in June 2023 or whenever a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is published, following a refresh of National guidance. 

           The Board would be kept updated as the work progresses with a partner report to the January meeting.

          RESOLVED:  That the presentation be noted. 

          The Board considered a report which provided an overview of the plans in place to help protect Halton’s population from challenges during Winter 2022/23.  The report also summarised the flu and winter vaccination programme, system pressure planning and the links with measures required to support Halton communities during the cost of living crisis.

          The report described four main outcomes, those being flu, covid, system pressures and supporting people and households.

          RESOLVED:  That:

1)    the content and process of planning for winter to protect Halton’s population against additional threats that the season may bring be noted; and

2)    each individual agency note their respective requirements in relation to the programme and use all opportunities to promote positive prevention messages and community support as widely as possible. 

The Board received a report of the Halton Place Director, which provided information regarding the pressures the NHS were expecting to experience in the coming winter months and the focus being employed in preparation and monitoring.  The NHS Chief Executive had written to all NHS organisations to outline the approach being undertaken to develop operational resilience during the coming winter, with a focus on urgent and emergency care services and the capacity and occupancy in acute hospital beds.

The Board was advised that the NHS Winter Plan aimed to mitigate some of the pressure points within the system and it had a series of key metrics to monitor the situation throughout the winter. The report set out the Plan core objectives and key actions.

The Board noted that:

·       NHS Cheshire and Merseyside had set up a weekly Winter Planning and Operational Group to support the development of the ICB winter planning and provide assurance across the systems;

·       the number of services and initiatives in place to support Halton residents to create closer to home and easily accessible alternatives to acute hospital care; and

·       Halton was establishing a Winter Resilience Group, operational and tactical management and escalation arrangements.  These would bring together health and care partners to monitor, plan, implement and impact, system performance and pressures, identifying, agreeing and executing remedial actions as required to ensure local people can access the services they need, when they need them.

          RESOLVED:  That the Board noted:

1)    the focus on the urgent and emergency care services;

2)    the core objectives and actions being employed; and

3)    the Board Assurance Framework and key metrics.

The Board received a report regarding the predicted health impacts of the cost of living crisis and outlined the actions taken locally to reduce those impacts. 

          The report summarised:

·       The characteristics of a person who was more at risk of fuel poverty;

·       Risk factors and health conditions impacted on by cold homes; and

·       The support available to people both nationally and locally, fuel support, funding grant schemes and existing planned events.

RESOLVED:  That:

1)    the report be noted;

2)    all partners to promote community support opportunities widely.

          The Board received a report from the Strategic Director, People which presented the Dementia Friendly Plan.  The Dementia Friendly Communities was a programme from the National Alzheimer’s Society which focused on improving inclusion and quality of life for people with dementia and encouraged organisations to develop and implement local action plans. 

The Council had developed an action plan which was approved by Executive Board in June 2022.  The three main priorities of the plan were to set up an infrastructure to support dementia friendly commitment by the Council, raise awareness amongst staff and targeting specific service area tasks going forward.

RESOLVED:  The report be noted.

The Board received a report from the Director of Public Health, which provided an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan 2022/23 following its submission on 26^th September 2022.  The update provided the Board with information on the four national conditions and the three related documents, those being the BCF Plan, BCF planning template and capacity and demand information.

          RESOLVED:  The BCF Plan 2022/23 be noted for information.

          The Board considered a report from Lucy Garner, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which provided an update on the proposal to cease the Breast Screening service at Kendrick Wing, Warrington Hospital and consolidate and expand the service at Bath Street, Warrington.  The report also outlined the case for change, the outcome of the public consultation and the next steps in the process.

          It was also reported that extension bids had received approval to improve diagnostics with additional MRI and CT scanners.  These would be based at the Captain Tom Moore site at Halton Hospital.

          RESOLVED:  The Board noted the report and supported the next steps as outlined in the report.

          The Board received a report from the Director of Adult Social Services, regarding the current position and development of the Women’s Centre.  The report described the service provided by centre, the service development, funding/resources and future developments/considerations. 

          RESOLVED:  The report be noted.

          The Board received a report which informed them of the establishment of the Halton Combating Drugs Partnership, its governance and its remit.  The Partnership was a multi-agency partnership which was established to support the delivery of the ambitions as set out in the National Strategy “From Harm to Hope: A 10 year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives”.  The focus was to prevent harm from drugs. 

The National Strategy sets out 3 key areas to address harm and criminality from drugs and drugs use:

·       Break drug supply chains;

·       Deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system;

·       Achieve a generational shift in demand for drugs.

The inaugural meeting of the Halton Combating Drugs Partnership was held on 20 September 2022.  The meeting agreed the terms of reference, shared information for the Joint Needs Strategic Assessment, agreed timescales and acknowledged the challenges.

          Further meetings would be held in November and January with a local plan expected in January 2023.

RESOLVED:  The Board noted the purpose of the Combating Drugs Partnership and its intended reporting structure and also the brief update on the recent meeting.