Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Madeleine Shopland  Democratic & Electoral Services Specialist

Items
No. Item

11.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted from Councillors Kate Haines and John Jarvis.

12.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 240 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 June 2017.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 5 June 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

13.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

14.

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 committee.

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee 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.

15.

Member Question Time

To answer any member questions

Minutes:

There were no Member questions.

16.

NHS Dental Services - Wokingham Borough pdf icon PDF 313 KB

To receive an update on NHS dental services in Wokingham Borough. (30 mins)

Minutes:

Members were updated on NHS dental services in Wokingham Borough by Hugh O’Keefe, Contract Manager – Dental, NHS England South (South Central).

 

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

 

·         NHS England commissioned all primary care services.  In the case of dentistry, NHS England commissioned primary, community and secondary care services.

·         The commissioning of GP services was carried out by the Clinical Commissioning Groups. 

·         NHS England was divided into 13 local offices.  NHS South Central was further divided into South Central Thames Valley and South Central Bath, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

·         NHS England Thames Valley expenditure on dentistry was £90m per annum; £63m primary care; £9m Community Dental Services and £18m on hospital based treatment.

·         Patient charges also applied.  Treatment was banded into three bands.  Children were exempt from charges for treatment as were some categories of adult.

·         Young children in Wokingham, on average, had amongst the best oral health in Thames Valley with approximately 14% of 5 year olds with decay experience.  The oral health in Wokingham was considerably better than that of the England mean with about 25% of children experiencing decay by the age of 5.  Slough had higher levels at 40%.

·         Poor oral health in children was linked to deprivation so it was likely that the more deprived wards would on average contain children with the worst oral health.

·         People were not registered with dentists in the same way as they were with a GP and could choose to attend any practice.  Approximately half the Thames Valley population regularly attended a dentist.  If people had an urgent need for dental care and did not have a regular dentist, they could contact NHS 111 who could direct these patients to practices that would see them on the day.  There were approximately 40 practices in Thames Valley that would see patients on the day.  These tended to be larger practices.  Members asked how many of these were in Wokingham Borough.  Hugh O’Keeffe agreed to feed back to the Committee.

·         Patients could also be signposted to NHS Choices which provided information on the dental services and practices available.

·         Access to dental services was discussed in detail.  Improving access to NHS dental services had become a national priority after the implementation of the new dental contract in 2006.  2009 – 2012 ‘ringfenced’ monies were identified to improve dental access.

·         It was noted that there were 14 NHS dental practices within the Borough with 10 delivering services to all groups of patients and 4 to children only.

·         Approximately 45.5% of the Wokingham population had attended an NHS dental practice in the 2 years prior to May 2017, an increase of about 3,500 patients when compared to May 2015.  This was slightly lower than the national average; however, it was likely that the use of private dental practices was higher in the Borough.

·         Members considered information regarding access to NHS dentistry by ward.  The majority of wards had good levels of access.  In response to a Member question, Hugh  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Health and Wellbeing Board

To receive an update on the work of the Health and Wellbeing Board. (15 mins)

Minutes:

The Committee received an update on the work of the Health and Wellbeing Board from Councillor McGhee-Sumner, Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

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

 

·         The new Health and Wellbeing Strategy was focused on four key priorities; Enabling and empowering resilient communities, Promoting and supporting good mental health; Reducing health inequalities in our Borough; and Delivering person-centred integrated services.

·         Members were informed that the Step Up, Step Down project had started well but had become less successful over time.  How this project could be improved would be looked at with the Clinical Commissioning Group and the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.  The Committee requested an update on the outcome of this work at a future meeting.

·         In response to a question from Councillor Loyes regarding bed blocking, Councillor McGhee-Sumner emphasised that Wokingham was one of the best in the country for ensuring minimal delays to transfers of care.

·         Members were informed that GP clustering was progressing.

·         The Health and Wellbeing Board was looking to become more responsive to residents’ needs rather than reactive.

·         Councillor McGhee-Sumner informed the Committee of the work with Reading and West Berkshire Councils on continuing healthcare.

·         Councillor Jones stated that he had been informed that recently there had been an increase in people presenting at A&E with mental health issues.  Councillor McGhee-Sumner commented that he would ask the Clinical Commissioning Group to confirm if this was the case.

·         Councillor Miall questioned whether care homes had sprinklers installed as standard and was informed that newer care homes did.  The Fire and Rescue and Service carried out spot safety checks.

·         Members were reminded that Healthwatch could undertake visits to care homes and often reported their findings to the Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

RESOLVED:  That Councillor McGhee-Sumner be thanked for his presentation and that the update on the work of the Health and Wellbeing Board be noted.

18.

Healthwatch Wokingham Borough

To receive an update on the work of Healthwatch Wokingham Borough. (15 mins)

Minutes:

The Committee discussed the work of Healthwatch Wokingham Borough.

 

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

 

·         At the last Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting the Committee had received the Healthwatch Wokingham Borough report on Extra Care. 

·         Jim Stockley indicated that some inaccuracies in the report had been brought to Healthwatch’s attention by Readibus.  Peter Absolon and Professor Sofia Bowlby from Readibus outlined their concerns.

·         Members were informed that changes would be made to the report, which would be agreed with Readibus.  The Committee requested that Members be sent the amended report.

·         It was noted that Readibus operated a full timetable of buses to Woodley.

·         Jim Stockley apologised that on this occasion Readibus had not received a copy of the report prior to its publication.  Members were assured that it was usual practice for reports to be sent to all relevant providers for comment prior to publication.

·         Healthwatch often dealt with small samples of people.

·         Members asked how the error had become known.

·         Members were reminded that Healthwatch could undertake visits to care homes and could highlight issues that people raised with them. 

·         Councillor Miall asked if the Healthwatch phone line operatives were able to refer callers who may have a mental health issue to other organisations such as the Samaritans, and was informed that they could.

 

RESOVLED:  That Jim Stockley be thanked for his presentation and that the update on the work of Healthwatch Wokingham Borough be noted.

19.

Health consultations pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To note current health consultations. (5 mins)

Minutes:

The Committee noted the current health consultation listed within the report.

 

The Care Quality Commission was seeking views on the next phase of regulation.  Its proposals included to regulate primary medical services and adult social care services and to improve the structure of registration, and clarify its definition of registered providers.

 

RESOLVED: That the health consultation be noted.

20.

Forward Programme 2017-18 pdf icon PDF 181 KB

To receive the forward programme for the remainder of the 2017-18 municipal year. (5 mins)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the forward programme for the remainder of the 2017-18 municipal year.

 

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

 

·         The Committee would receive the amended Healthwatch Wokingham Borough report on Extra Care.

·         Councillor Smith requested an update on the progress of the merger of Optalis Ltd with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, at a future meeting.

·         Members were informed that a site visit to the Fosters Care Home was being arranged.

·         Clarification was being sought on the Carr-Hill formula.

 

RESOVLED:  That the forward programme be noted.