Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Brodie-Browne; Diane Blair, Healthwatch; and Councillor Moncur, Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing.

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 4 January 2022

A copy of the Minutes of the Remote Informal Meeting of the Committee held on 4 January 2022 are submitted for information.

Minutes of the Special Meeting held on 31 January 2022.

A copy of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Committee held on 31 January 2022 are submitted for confirmation as a correct record.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the Minutes of the remote, informal meeting held on 4 January 2022 were approved as a correct record; and

(2)      the Minutes of the Special Meeting held on 31 January 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

At the last meeting, Members requested a representative of the North West Ambulance Service to be invited to attend the next Committee meeting.

Stuart Ryall, Sector Manager, Cheshire and Merseyside Area, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, to attend, to give a presentation (attached).

Further to Minutes Nod. 44 (3) and 46 (2) of the remote informal meeting of 4 January 2022, Stuart Ryall, Sector Manager, Cheshire and Merseyside Area, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS), attended the meeting, to give a presentation on performance for Quarter 2 and October 2021 for NWAS, in respect of each of the Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

The presentation outlined:

·       Southport and Formby CCG:

o   Resources;

o   Performance;

o   Incidents; and

o   Outcomes.

·       South Sefton CCG:

o   Resources;

o   Performance;

o   Incidents; and

o   Outcomes.

·       Information on the Mental Health Car.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

·       Clarification on vehicles available for NWAS and incidents attended by the Mental Health Car.

·       Changes anticipated in acute stroke services and the possibility of obtaining additional resources in the north of the Borough.

·       Journey times for acute stroke patients from Southport to Aintree Hospital.

·       The advantages of better quality of care over increased journey times.

·       Ambulance response times during the pandemic.

·       Input to the service by the military.

·       Cross-border use of ambulances.

·       The safety of the service at the current time.

·       The Patient Transport Service.

·       Staff sickness levels during the past two years.

·       Concerns regarding the relaxation of covid rules.

·       Increases in population and the number of vehicles available.

·       Commissioning for the service by the host authority, Blackpool CCG.

·       IT developments for reducing handover waiting times at hospitals.

·       Demographic changes to data and implications.

• The inclusion of information on ambulance performance within the data for future performance reports provided to the Committee.

·       Appreciation and thanks to the staff and service.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted, and Stuart Ryall be thanked for his attendance.

The latest Public Health Annual Report, which this year takes the form of a short video, will be shown to the Committee.

The Director of Public Health was required to produce an independent annual report on the health and wellbeing of their population, highlighting key issues. The 2021 annual report for Sefton took the form of a short video, rather than a written report, and focused on the coronavirus pandemic, looking at its impact across a number of sectors, the key partnership working, and the lessons learned along the way.

RESOLVED:

That a link to the Public Health Annual Report video be provided to Members of the Committee, to enable them to view it:

https://youtu.be/OdN8Emo3bCk

Report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health).

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health, updating Members and requesting comments regarding Adult Social Care Performance and changes to the current reporting framework in line with the implementation of the Health and Social Care Bill.

The report set out details of the current performance framework. The new regime was outlined, together with implications for regional assurance; inspection; self-assessment; and core data. Further information would be provided in due course.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

·       Recruitment and retention issues within the care sector, including hours; salary; the use of overseas workers; and potential career development.

·       Reablement and intermediate care.

·       The social value placed on working in the care sector and the outcome of a recent recruitment campaign.

·       The historic practice of Members of the Council visiting care homes, as part of the inspection regime.

·       The potential for creative solutions in encouraging young people to consider working in the care sector to be explored.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health).

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health providing assurance of the policies and procedures in place to address any safeguarding concerns in care homes within Sefton. The report outlined the number of care homes; types of placements; requirements of the Care Act; duty on care homes; safeguarding referrals; types of abuse including neglect and acts of omission; and the role of Adult Social Care in addressing issues within care homes. The policy on Management of Organisational Safeguarding Concerns in Sefton was attached to the report.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

·       Numbers of safeguarding referrals as a percentage. Regional and national figures could be provided as context.

·       Any complaints were categorised and detail could be provided.

·       The reduction in referrals made during the pandemic.

·       The role of the Safeguarding Board and the prevention agenda.

That the report be noted and comments received.

Joint report of NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Committee considered the joint report of the NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the NHS Southport and Formby CCG, that provided an update about the work of the CCGs. The report outlined details of the following:

·       System updates;

·       Planning and recovery;

·       White paper on integrating health and social care published;

·       COVID-19 vaccination update;

·       GP practice access;

·       Infection prevention measures;

·       Last calls for GP COVID-19 access survey;

·       Consider an NHS career says chief officer as she reflects on 40 years of service;

·       Integrating and improving blood cancer services in North Mersey;

·       Ground-breaking cancer trial comes to Sefton; and

·       Governing Body meetings.

Martin McDowell, Deputy Chief Officer for the Sefton CCGs, attended the meeting to present the update report and to respond to questions raised by Members of the Committee.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

·       The NHS Galleri clinical trial and raising of awareness of GP practices of the trial.

·       The extension of the Covid 19 vaccination programme to 5- to 11-year-olds in a clinical risk group and increase of publicity for parents who wished to take up the offer.

·       The future of pop-up vaccine clinics in the Borough.

·       Issues with GP access and the apparent lack of referral to the GP Extended Access scheme.

·       The possibility of a fourth covid vaccine being offered.

RESOLVED:

That the update report submitted by the Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups, be received.

Joint report of NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Committee considered the joint report of NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG, that provided data on key performance areas, together with responses for the Friends and Family Test for both Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Information on the monitoring of the7-day GP extended access scheme for both CCGs was included within the data.

Martin McDowell, Deputy Chief Officer for the Sefton CCGs, attended the meeting to present the data and to respond to questions raised by Members of the Committee.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

• A&E experience at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, compared to Aintree Hospital.
• The inclusion of information on ambulance performance within the data for future performance reports provided to the Committee.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the information on Health Provider Performance be noted; and

(2)      the Chief Officer for the Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups be requested to include information on ambulance performance within the data for future performance reports provided to the Committee.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer submitting the most recent update reports from the Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care, and the Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing, whose portfolios fall within the remit of the Committee.

The Cabinet Member update report – Adult Social Care, attached to the report at Appendix A, outlined information on the following:

·       Life Course Commissioning;

·       Adult Social Care Budget:

o   External grants;

·       Integration and National Policy Update;

·       Adult Social Care Complaints Overview;

·       System Pressures - Hospital and Access into Social Care;

·       National Policy:

o   Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund: purpose and conditions 2022 to 2023;

o   Available Funding;

o   2022/2023 policy expectations and funding conditions;

·       Performance and Key Areas of Focus:

o   Admission into care;

o   Carers Services;

o   Employment;

o   Housing; and

·       Safeguarding.

Councillor Cummins, Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care, attended the meeting to present his report and to respond to any questions.

The Cabinet Member update report – Health and Wellbeing, attached to the report at Appendix B, outlined information on the following:

·       COVID-19 Update;

·       Seasonal Influenza;

·       Public Health Annual Report;

·       Dunes Splash World;

·       Leisure Update:

o   Leisure Centre Updates;

o   Active Aquatics Service;

o   Leisure Development Offer;

o   Leisure General;

o   Active Workforce;

·       Active Sefton GP Referral Based Services:

o   Partnership work through Living Well Sefton and wider VCS

o   Attendance at Primary Care Networks;

o   Individual Surgery Meetings;

o   Mersey Care;

o   Integrated Care Partnership;

o   Public Health / CCG;

o   Internal communications support;

o   Access to EMIS and other ICT developments;

o   Accessing referrals on behalf of patients; and

o   Work with UK Active.

RESOLVED:

That the update reports from the Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care and the Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing be noted.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer reviewing the Committee’s Work Programme for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2021/22; reporting on progress of work on the Integrated Care Partnership; identifying any items for pre-scrutiny by the Committee from the Key Decision Forward Plan; receiving an update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee; reporting on progress made by the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee in considering proposals for the reconfiguration of the hyper-acute stroke services across North Merseyside and West Lancashire; and noting the update by Healthwatch Sefton.

The Work Programme for 2021/22 was set out at Appendix A to the report, to be considered, along with any additional items to be included and agreed.

There were five Decisions within the latest Key Decision Forward Plan, attached to the report at Appendix B, that fell under this Committee’s remit, and the Committee was invited to consider items for pre-scrutiny.

An update on recent activities undertaken by Healthwatch Sefton, was attached to the report at Appendix C.

RESOLVED:

(1)      the Work Programme for 2021/22, as set out in Appendix A to the report, be noted;

(2)      progress made to date of work on the Integrated Care Partnership be noted;

(3)      the contents of the Key Decision Forward Plan for the period 1 March to 30 June 2022, be noted;

(4)      the update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted;

(5)      the progress made on the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee in considering proposals for the reconfiguration of the hyper-acute stroke services across North Merseyside and West Lancashire, be noted; and

(6)      the recent activities undertaken by Healthwatch Sefton, as outlined in Appendix C to the report, be noted.