Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 28 October 2021, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 October 2021 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There were no items requiring urgent attention.

The Chair made the following announcements:

(a)       Mrs Mayes was welcomed, who was attending the meeting in her capacity as a Co-opted Member of the Council's Standards Committee to observe and monitor compliance with the Council’s ethical governance framework.

(b)       Dr Sarah Wollaston was the new Chair of the Integrated Care System for Devon, which would formally come into being on 1 July 2022.

Verbal update from the Director of Public Health.

The Director of Public Health updated the Board on the current position relating to the Coronavirus.

The Deputy Director stated that the Omicron variant was more transmissible and although offering milder symptoms, was still impacting hospitals.  The latest data suggested a downward trajectory of the Omicron wave, which was optimistic but with schools having now returned, caution was needed. Of particular note with this wave was the high numbers of secondary school age students having antibodies from last September, aided with the vaccination programme.

The expectation was to hopefully see a peak in the next week or so, although other variants of the virus were expected, therefore a degree of caution was needed.

The Board were referred to the following available online data:

DCC Covid-19 Dashboard: Coronavirus dashboard and data in Devon -

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

National Coronavirus Tracker: Daily summary | Coronavirus in the UK

(data.gov.uk)

National Coronavirus Interactive Map: Interactive Map |

Coronavirus in the UK (data.gov.uk)

Report of the Director of Public Health, which reviews progress against the overarching priorities identified in the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Devon 2020-2025.

The Board noted the Report from the Director of Public Health on the performance for the Board, which monitored the priorities identified in the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Devon 2020-25.

The indicator list and performance summary within the full report set out the priorities, indicators and indicator types, and included a trend line, highlighting change over time.

The latest Health and Wellbeing Outcomes Report, along with this paper, was available on the Devon Health and Wellbeing website.

The Report monitored the four Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2020-25 priorities, and included breakdowns by local authority, district and trends over time. These priorities areas included:

·          Create opportunities for all

·          Healthy safe, strong and sustainable communities

·          Focus on mental health

·          Maintain good health for all

The indicators below had all been updated since the last report to the Board:

Mortality Rate from Preventable Causes (Under 75), 2020

The mortality rate from preventable causes for people aged under 75 per 100,000 in Devon was 107.7. This was statistically significantly lower than the England rate of 140.5. There was variation in the rate across the districts in Devon. East Devon, Mid Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon had statistically lower rates than England and Exeter, North Devon and Torridge had a statistically similar rate to England.

Suicide Rate, 2018-20

The suicide rate in Devon per 100,000 was 11.9. This was statistically worse than the England rate of 10.4. Exeter, Mid Devon and Teignbridge were all significantly statistically worse than the England rate. East Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Torridge and West Devon were all statistically similar to the England rate.

Under 18s Conception Rate, 2019

The under 18s conception rate in Devon per 1,000 was 11.7. This was statistically significantly lower than the England rate of 15.7. The Devon districts are statistically similar to the England rate with the exception of South Hams which is statistically significantly lower.

Further data on mortality rates from preventable causes would be provided to the Board at a future date.

Report of the Locality Director (Care and Health) – North and East), Devon County Council and NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, attached.

(Councillor J Brazil attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item.)

The Board considered the Report of the Locality Director (Care and Health) North and East, Devon County Council and NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group as to the Better Care Fund (BCF), which covered the planning and activity for Devon for 2021/22 and the latest information for 2022/23.  The Health and Wellbeing Board had oversight of the BCF and was accountable for its delivery.

National planning requirements for the BCF were published in September 2021 and included the requirement to submit an annual plan by 16 November.  This was achieved subject to formal Board approval at this meeting, the Board having first been circulated a narrative description of the plan for comment.

The report detailed the plan’s priorities for 2021/22 as follows:

·          Respond to the challenge of the Covid-19 Pandemic

·          Further embedding of discharge to assess pathways

·          Sustainability of the care market and care workforce

·          Embedding the Community Mental Health Framework

The report also set out five new metrics introduced in 2021/22, which would be reported to the Board on a quarterly basis.  These metrics were:

·       Avoidable Admissions

·       Length of stay

·       Discharge to Normal Place of Residence

·       Residential Admissions

·       Reablement

It was expected that the planning requirements for 2022/23 would be published before the start of the year.

The Board and Officer discussion covered:

-       it was noted that there was currently a joint review of the full dementia pathway planned between the CCG and Devon County Council taking place this year; and

-       the lack of available housing for key workers particularly in rural areas.

RESOLVED that the Board note and endorse the national planning requirements and the Plan for Devon for 2021/22.

Presentation from Public Health Devon.

The Board received a presentation from Public Health Devon relating to self-harm in children and young people.  The presentation covered:

-       National and local data;

-       Local intelligence developments – development of an exploratory tool, initially focussed on self-harm and suicide;

-       Wider determinants and risk factors – self-harm rates peaked in 16-24 year old women and 25-34 year old men;

-       What are we doing? – Support for carers, Connect 5 training and Suicide prevention strategy; and

-       Areas for development.

It was noted that Public Health Devon were working with the Devon Children and Families Partnership and the Board would be kept updated on that work.

The Board were referred to the health needs assessment on self-harm (Needs Assessments - Devon Health and Wellbeing) for additional information.

The Chair thanked Officers for the informative presentation and discussion, and looked forward to a further update in due course.

Report of the Head of Communities, attached.

(Councillor J Brazil attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item.)

(Councillor Y Atkinson declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of being a Trustee of the Charity, Exeter Food Action.)

The Board received the report from the Council’s Head of Communities on Food Insecurity and the Council’s emerging response and strategy.

The Covid-19 pandemic had highlighted a range of inequalities across Devon, including a rise in levels of poverty and food insecurity. During the last year, the Council had invested over £5m in the provision of food and essential supplies, particularly to those families eligible for free school meals.  A further £5m would be available for this autumn/winter.

The report highlighted that the Council should continue to work with a range of partners on both the long-term opportunities to learn and develop change alongside the short-term distribution of support from funds, such as the Household Support Grant.

The following were the current priorities for the Council to develop in partnership, over the next 12 months:

-       Deliver the Household Support Fund to families across Devon to 31 March 2022 

-       DCC/District Councils to commission/grant fund development of Food Networks in Devon, working across VCSE partners 

-       Work jointly on developing a new learning phase building on the experiences around food insecurity to link with wider hardship/welfare 

-       Agree common Team Devon principles for welfare/hardship/support and wider poverty, where helpful 

-       Develop a menu outlining a common offer with minimum expectations for each District area. Include consideration of digital inclusion and how data is shared. 

-       Develop a common Team Devon strategy for this work.

It was noted that the Exeter Food Action charity had linked up with FareShare, who were the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributor.

An update from the Chair of NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, attached.

The Board received the report of the Chair of the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group which provided an update on CCG business, Devon-wide and national developments within the NHS.  It was intended to provide the Board with summary information to ensure Members were kept abreast of important developments affecting the NHS.

The board noted updates, particularly on:

-       Dr Sara Wollaston had been appointed Chair of the Integrated Care System for Devon (ICSD) and Jane Milligan as Chief Executive Officer for the new ICSD.

-       Staffing pressures across the health and care system continued;

-       The Emergency Department Survey Report - Healthwatch Devon

The Board briefly discussed the following:

-       The merger of the RD&E and North Devon hospital trusts and improvements being made.

-       The value of future composite reporting to the Board from the Council, Adult Social Care and CCG/ICS (as with current Scrutiny reporting).

Nil

In order to prevent duplication, the Board will review the Council’s Scrutiny Work Programme.

The Board reviewed the Council’s Scrutiny Work Programme in order to avoid any potential duplications.

To review and agree the Board’s Forward Plan, attached.

The Board considered the contents of the Forward Plan, as outlined below:

RESOLVED that the Forward Plan be approved.

Members of the Board received regular email bulletins directing them to items of interest, including research reports, policy documents, details of national/ regional meetings, events, consultations, campaigns and other correspondence. Details were available on the Devon Health and Wellbeing website.

No items of correspondence had been received since the last meeting.

Please note that dates of future meetings and conferences will be included in the Devon County Council meetings calendar.

Meetings (at 2.15pm)

7 April, 14 July, 20 October 2022

19 January, 6 April 2023

RESOLVED that future meetings of the Board would be held on the following dates.

7 April 2022

14 July 2022

20 October 2022

19 January 2023

6 April 2023