Agenda and minutes

Venue: David Hicks 1 - Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN

Contact: Madeleine Shopland  Democratic & Electoral Services Specialist

Media

Items
No. Item

31.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted from Sarah Deason, Graham Ebers, Councillor Clive Jones, Councillor Charles Margetts, Steve Moore, Susan Parsonage and Helen Watson.

32.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 103 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 October 2022.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 13 October 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

33.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

34.

Public Question Time

To answer any public questions

 

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

 

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this Board.

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Board or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

 

35.

Member Question Time

To answer any member questions

Minutes:

There were no Member questions.

 

36.

Update from Tracy Daszkiewicz

Minutes:

Tracy Daszkiewicz provided an update on Strep A. 

 

·       There had been a lot in the media recently regarding Strep A and scarlet fever.  A number of children had become very ill and some had sadly died.

·       Strep A could cause mild illness but could also escalate.  Incidents were primarily being seen in children under the age of 10. 

·       Scarlet fever was a condition caused by Strep A and was more common in Spring. The fact that there were a larger number of cases during winter, was unusual.

·       In very rare cases Strep A could advance into Invasive Strep A infection, a sepsis type infection.

·       Scarlet fever gave those infected, a temperature, an almost strawberry red, tongue, and an abrasive red rash on the cheeks.  It usually cleared up after a few days and antibiotics could be given where needed.

·       If children became more unwell and symptoms were escalating e.g., increased temperature, unable to eat or drink or dry nappies in very young children, medical attention should be sought as a precaution.  Parents could phone NHS 111 or find information on the Council’s website about symptoms and where to get help.  However, most cases were very mild.

·       Alice Kunjappy-Clifton asked what advice would be given to the vulnerable elderly community.  Tracy Daszkiewicz indicated that it was the same advice for all age cohorts.  Whilst it could infect anyone, it primarily infected those under 10, who were also less able to communicate their symptoms.

37.

Suicide Prevention Strategy Update pdf icon PDF 105 KB

To receive an update on the Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Minutes:

Tracy Daszkiewicz provided an update on the Suicide Prevention Strategy.

 

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

 

·       An update had been provided earlier in the year, following a review of the Suicide Prevention Strategy published in October 2021.  The reason for the review was a number of changes in policy and updated datasets which had been delayed due to Covid.

·       The Suicide Prevention Partnership had been re-established and had good multi agency representation.

·       The Strategy would be launched for consultation at the Suicide Prevention Summit on 12 December 2022.

·       The changing landscape around suicide prevention, understanding the risks of harm and the impact on different areas of the population, such as the impact of social media on young people, were important.

·       Around 6,000 suicides were recorded a year, nationally.  However, this was likely to be a large under reporting.

·       Despair leading to suicide could happen in very small timescales, as short as 15 minutes.  If diversions could be in place for people facing moments of despair more people could potentially be protected from suicide.

 

RESOLVED:  That the Suicide Prevention Strategy update be noted.

38.

Vaccination update - Covid and flu pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To receive an update on Covid and flu vaccinations.

Minutes:

Andrew Price, Locality Manager for Wokingham, BOB ICB, provided an update on Covid and flu vaccinations.

 

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

 

·       The focus of the Covid booster had been those in the at risk groups, either by age or by clinical condition.  Delivery sites had included the Broad St Mall Mass Vaccination Centre (now closed), community pharmacies, PCNs, the Health on the Move Van, and the Outreach site at Shute End.

·       72% of the 50 plus population in Wokingham had taken up the Autumn Covid booster (as of 30 November).  The figure for the ICB and England was 70% and 62% respectively.

·       Andrew Price highlighted the location of the fixed Covid vaccination delivery sites in the Borough.  The Board was reminded that community pharmacies and PCNs were able to decide whether they wanted to participate in the programme.  All six of the PCNs in the Borough had taken part.

·       With regards to the flu vaccination programme, the eligible cohorts differed slightly to those of the Covid vaccination programme.

·       Providers had been encouraged to co-administer the Covid and flu vaccines where possible.  Local data indicated that around 26% of people were having their two vaccines at the same time.

·       As of 30 October 2022, 66% of the Wokingham 65+ population had received a flu vaccination and 67% of the corresponding age group within the ICB and 65% in England.

·       The governance and monitoring around vaccinations was highlighted.  The Berkshire West Vaccination Action Group chaired by Susan Parsonage was the key oversight mechanism within Berkshire West.

·       A lot of work had been undertaken regarding communications since September.  However, the communication around Covid had been competing with a number of largescale interest items, such as the cost of living crisis.

·       The Board was updated on vaccination rates by various cohorts.

·       Wokingham had performed very well for delivering the booster vaccination to over 65s in care homes.  Performance was also very good for the 75+ population and the immunosuppressed.

·       There was not easily available data at a specific locality level for housebound residents, but it was believed that approximately 79.1% of the housebound population in Berkshire West had been vaccinated.

·       There was a much lower take up in women who were currently pregnant.  Discussions had been had with the Maternity lead at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, who would be attending the next Berkshire West Vaccination Action Group meeting to talk further about some of the initiatives that were being undertaken to improve vaccination levels.  The Board was informed that a video was being shot of a pregnant midwife at the hospital, explaining why having both the Covid and the flu vaccinations was beneficial.  In addition, there would be further training for midwives on how they offered the vaccine, and a midwife would go out on the Health on the Move van on some occasions, which would help to target areas of deprivation or where take up was low.

·       Performance was lower than previously for the vaccination of health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

39.

Developing the Integrated Care Strategy pdf icon PDF 382 KB

To receive a presentation on developing the Integrated Care Strategy.

Minutes:

Sarah Webster, Executive Director Berkshire West, BOB ICB, and Rob Bowen, Deputy Director Strategy, BOB ICB, provided an update on developing the Integrated Care Partnership Strategy.

 

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

 

·       Rob Bowen emphasised that the Strategy had been developed on behalf of the Integrated Care Partnership.  He thanked those, including Ingrid Slade and Tracy Daszkiewicz, who had been involved in the integral conversations in developing the Strategy.

·       The Integrated Care Partnership were accountable for developing the Strategy.  The Strategy would set a clear direction for the system and promote joint working to meet local population health, care and social need.

·        It was intended that the Strategy would –

Ø  help to improve the public's health and well-being needs;

Ø  reduce health inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes across the system;

Ø  bring learning from across places and the system to drive improvement and innovation;

Ø  address the problems that would benefit from a system response and multiple partners.

·       How this would be achieved included –

Ø  The Strategy would complement but not supersede existing priorities within the Health and Wellbeing Strategies;

Ø  Joint working with a wide range of ICS partners;

Ø  Co-develop evidence-based, system-wide priorities – engaging a broad range of people, communities, and organisations.

·       Six thematic working groups which had provided a framework for more detailed conversations, were highlighted.  Three of them followed a life event and the other three were cross cutting through that.  Representations from different areas and organisations had been involved to ensure a wide range of perspectives.

·       A draft set of 18 priorities had been identified, which linked into a vision and the following 5 principles –

Ø  Preventing ill health;

Ø  Tackling health inequalities;

Ø  Providing person centred care;

Ø  Supporting local delivery;

Ø  Improving join up between our services.

·       Rob Bowen went on to outline the approach to engagement that would be taken.  The draft Strategy would hopefully be published on Monday 12th. 

·       The Board noted the timescale of engagement.  Rob Bowen commented that the previously identified period of engagement would not have provided sufficient time to carry out meaningful engagement. 

·       There would be two parallel streams to this engagement – engaging well with the Borough residents; and considering the different partner organisations that should receive the document when it was published.

·       With regards to public engagement, information would be available online and there would be an engagement platform which enable people to access the Strategy and supporting documents, and also to complete a survey to give their views on the proposed priorities.  It would also provide links to the Health and Wellbeing Strategies. 

·       Work would be undertaken with Healthwatch on public engagement and work had been undertaken with the Voluntary Sector forum.  Existing patient engagement forums such as Patient Participation Groups would also be contacted.

·       Where possible links had been made with the local authority Communications Teams in order to assist in the distribution of information.

·       Virtual meetings to outline the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

Forward Programme pdf icon PDF 68 KB

To consider the Board’s work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

Minutes:

The Committee discussed the forward programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

 

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

 

·       Alice Kunjappy-Clifton requested that a presentation on the approach being taken by Healthwatch Wokingham Borough be added to the February agenda.

·       It was suggested that an update on NHS dentistry be provided at the April meeting.  Alice Kunjappy-Clifton confirmed that Healthwatch were seeking enquiries regarding dental services.

·       The Board requested an update on how the Borough had performed in relation to winter preparedness, at its April meeting.

·       Councillor Bray commented that she had been informed that the pharmacy in Sainsbury’s at Winnersh was closing.  Those living in Winnersh could now no longer walk to a pharmacy.  Ingrid Slade agreed to establish whether the Council had been notified of this and the possible implications.

 

RESOLVED:  That the forward programme be noted.