Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs J E Killey and A P Maughan.

It was noted that the Interim Chief Executive had advised that having received a notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, he had appointed Councillor S R Dodds as a replacement member of the Committee in place of Councillor Mrs J E Killey, for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 April 2018 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

There were no announcements by the Chairman or Lead Officers.  However, it was commented by the Chairman, following a call from a resident trying to get an assessment, that there was a need for the Customer Service Centre, when dealing with an initial adult social care contact to ensure that the caller was provided with definitive information in relation to timelines and what would happen next.

On this issue, the Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison and Community Engagement advised that she had received positive feedback from a resident following contact through the website and the speedy way that they had been dealt with.

The Executive Councillor advised that there were currently two surveys running which the Council would be providing a response to.  She would let the Chairman know when the closing dates were.

(To receive a report from Derek Ward (Director of Public Health), which presents the 2017 Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Lincolnshire)

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Committee with the opportunity to consider the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health (DPH).

Members were advised that one of the statutory duties of each local authority was to produce an independent report on the state of the health of the people they serve on an annual basis.  It was noted that the 2017 DPH Annual Report covered two topics which were high on the agenda for organisations locally, which were:

·         A chapter on the case for investing in prevention in support of the Lincolnshire Health and Care System's need to shift investment into proven prevention interventions.

·         A chapter reviewing the focus on the biological and environmental threats to people's health and the systems in place to track those hazards and protect Lincolnshire people from harm.

The Committee received a short powerpoint presentation from the Director of Public Health on the Annual Report, and further information in relation to the following areas was provided:

·         Ageing Apocalypse

·         Years to Life! Life to Years?

·         Life to years works

·         All is not lost

·         Every gain helps

Members were advised that this was a retrospective report, and it was important to note that there was a statutory duty for the Director of Public Health to produce this report and a statutory responsibility for the Council to publish the report.

It was noted that there was there was a big growth expected in the 65-74 and 75+ age groups by the year 2039.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the presentation and report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         The presentation focused on the concept of 'healthy ageing' and how the benefits of exercising could help to prevent or delay the onset of some conditions associated with older age.

·         It was commented that evidence from recent studies on dementia, that exercise was not a panacea for 'curing' dementia.  However, it was acknowledged that it could be helpful in preventing vascular dementia.

·         It was noted that older people with dementia could decline very quickly, and there was evidence that those in the 70-75 age group, living a reclusive life could decline even quicker.  It was important to be able to give people with dementia the confidence to go out and participate in activities such as singing and dancing which had been shown to slow the progression of dementia.

·         It was reported that when babies were born their neural pathways developed, and there was emerging evidence that with some forms of dementia, certain types of stimulation helped to find new neural pathways and could help to relieve some of the symptoms.

·         Members were also advised that unhealthy behaviours tended to cluster, and people demonstrating these behaviours were likely to develop more than one health condition as they aged.  However, if a person currently only had one condition, it was important to help them to maintain that health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

(To receive a presentation from Derek Ward (Director of Public Health) on the role of the Director of Public Health)

The Committee received a presentation from the Director of Public Health which provided members with an overview of the role of public health and particularly focused on the following areas:

·         What is Public Health?

·         3 Core aspects to Public Health

·         Money

·         Wat do we do with it?

·         Role of Scrutiny

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the Director of Public Health in relation to the information contained within the presentation, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It was suggested that in terms of sexual health, there was a need for more emphasis on the importance of the emotional aspects and consent.

·         In relation to bus passes and rural bus routes, it was commented that if those rural routes were better subsidised, this would interconnect with the general health of the older population.  It was thought this could have a positive impact on their health as well as helping to reduce isolation.  It was suggested that bus passes should be part of the health service.

·         The benefits of volunteering on a person's mental health could be amazing, and these sorts of activities should not be underestimated in the way that they could transform people's lives, and it was thought that schemes which encourage this should be encouraged throughout the country.

·         It was acknowledged that there was a lot that could be done without spending a lot of money.  Models and systems where people could be connected with existing community groups could be established.  It was noted that the challenge was when finances got tighter how the benefits of these models could be quantified.

·         It was commented that there was no reason why councillors could not help to facilitate these sorts of connections at a local level, and it was queried whether members were aware of every activity taking place within their division.  It was noted that assisting in this way did not cost any money, but it did take time.

·         It was queried what impact it was thought the Director of Public Health could have with the NHS and CCG's in terms of the STP, as not a lot of progress was being made with the NHS locally through the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire.  It was queried how the County Council could get the message through the NHS.  Members were informed that the NHS Lincolnshire had agreed to invest £500,000 into the integrated lifestyle project.

·         Public health was part of the NHS from 1974 – 2013.  Consultants were employed by Public Health that were recognised by the NHS and so there was the opportunity to influence.  It was about finding those areas which could be influenced at an officer to officer level.

·         The BCF was one way to get some engagement, and the Executive Director for Adult Care was starting work into delayed discharges.

·         The UK was the 4^th most obese nation in the world.

·         Some districts had recently agreed to employ health trainers who would work with either families  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(To receive a report by David Stacey (Programme Manager, Strategy and Performance) and Alex Craig (Commercial and Procurement Manager – People Services) which invites the Committee to consider a report on Local Healthwatch Procurement, which is due to be decided by the Executive Councillor between 1^st to 7^th June.  The views of the Committee will be reported to the Executive Councillor, as part of her consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report which invited the Adult and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to consider a report on Local Healthwatch Procurement, which was due to be determined by the Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison and Community Engagement between 1 and 7 June 2018.

It was reported that the Council's existing grant agreement for Local Healthwatch Services in Lincolnshire had been in place for five years.  The report gave an update on Local Healthwatch Services, the proposed re-commissioning and sought approval to proceed with the re-procurement of this service on a grant agreement basis.

Members were informed that giving people a greater say in how the health and care system worked was a central pillar of the coalition Government's ambition and a key component of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.  To achieve this, the government had outlined a framework for a network of local Healthwatch organisations with the aim of creating a credible, representative and influential public voice in the system.  Local authorities with adult social care responsibilities were required, under the Act, to commission a local Healthwatch service covering the local authority area.  The Act also made provision for contractual arrangements between local authorities and their local Healthwatch organisation, however, it did allow flexibility for councils to choose the commissioning route that offered the best value for money in their communities.

The Committee was provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It was confirmed that the grant was currently £300,000, and it was queried whether funding was also available from other sources.

·         It was noted that a separate trading arm had been set up, which could generate additional work and therefore additional income.  It had been specified that the Council would want to investigate this aspect further.

·         It was noted that unless an activity was covered under the grant agreement, it was asked that any additional activities be funded from other sources.

·         In terms of opening this up for competition, it was noted that there were six possible providers.  It was considered positive that there were six potential providers as it was a very bespoke service.

·         In relation to the potential for cost pressures, it was noted that there was acceptance that the current provider was able to deliver the core functions with the existing level of funding.

·         It was clarified that the Healthwatch service was only able to advise, however they could present their recommendations and the commissioners were duty bound to respond to any recommendations.

·         It was noted that there was a Healthwatch Lincolnshire website which received approximately 50,000 hits per year.  There were also around 12,000 reactive contacts per year.  However, there were also a number of pro-active contacts from events held within communities.

·         It was noted that whichever organisation was selected to operate the service, they would use the Healthwatch branding including the logo, and any other Intellectual  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

(To receive a report by Andrea Brown (Democratic Services Officer), which invites the Committee to receive the minutes of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub Group which was held on 16 April 2018)

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to have an overview of the activities of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, in particular the Sub-group's consideration of adult safeguarding matters.  The draft minutes of the last meeting of the Scrutiny Sub-Group held on 16 April 2018 were attached for consideration.

Councillor S Dodds, Chairman of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub Group, advised that it was important to have all representatives attend every meeting to ensure they were observing the work of the Board.

It was highlighted that an ongoing long term area of concern was the amount of reviews in the system. 

RESOLVED

            That the draft minutes of the meeting of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, held on 16 April 2018 be endorsed.

(To receive a report by Simon Evans (Health Scrutiny Officer), which invites the Committee to consider and comment on its work programme for the coming months)

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Committee to consider its work programme, which was reviewed at each meeting.  Members of the Committee were encouraged to highlight items which could be included for consideration.

Members were informed that the report on Integrated Lifestyle Support would be presented to the next meeting of the Committee.

It was suggested whether there was a need to consider the Health and Wellbeing Strategy in sections.  The idea of having a number of themes to follow through over a number of meetings was supported.

RESOLVED

            That the work programme as set out in the report be noted.