Agenda item

Joint report from the Director of Integrated Adult Social Care at DCC, the Director of Public Health, Communities & Prosperityat DCC, and the Chief Medical Officer of NHS Devon (CX/23/181), attached.

(Councillor J McInnes attended in accordance with Standing Order 25 (1) and spoke to this item with the consent of the Committee regarding the consultation on the proposals to close the North Devon Link Service and the three remaining link centres, assuring the Committee that the Devon Partnership Trust would continue to be involved in the consultation).

(At 1 pm the chair left the meeting and the vice-chair assumed chairing responsibilities for the remainder of the meeting).

Members considered the joint report of the Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, the Director of Public Health, the Director of Communities & Prosperity, and the Chief Medical Officer of NHS Devon (CX/23/181), which provided updates on key and standing items and general information, including responses on issues raised at the previous meeting of this Committee.

Officers highlighted the commissioning by NHS England of dental prevention work, aimed at educating people to improve their dental health and aim to reduce loads on dental services via prevention. Also called attention to the imminent launch of a new Devon Specialist Stop Smoking Service, which would continue the work of the previous provider but would also allow targeted work to supporting young people who vape but have never smoked, in stopping to do so. A rise in sexually transmitted diseases in young people across Devon was also highlighted, with Devon and Torbay awarding a new contract for the C-Card Scheme to Preventx Limited. This would provide free online advice, and contraception, to young people. Members agreed on the importance of education on all three of these issues.

Other member discussion with officers included:

• the cessation of Council contributions to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership Fund, as agreed by the Council’s Cabinet on 13^th September 2023, with there being some member concern about this decision and the implications on the Fund. Officers clarified that the Council’s funding to the Fund (which was for social prescribing) was being duplicated by national funding, and that the decision was made in light of a risk assessment and assurance that social prescribing would not cease without the Council’s funding;

• on homelessness, that conversations with Team Devon were ongoing alongside work with districts on proposals regarding the future of funding homelessness prevention;

• the future of North Devon Link Service. A member commented that making a decision on the future of the Link Centres based on patient numbers did not take full account of the picture; and that since the Coronavirus pandemic, changes to the referral system had impacted usage numbers, which did not reflect true need;

• that the forecast for the Public Health ringfenced budget was to break even;

• wider engagement for winter preparation was ongoing with community providers using local care partnerships following on from lessons of previous years’ winters;

• COVID and flu jab uptake;

• the impact of strike action on hospitals in Devon;

• ongoing, widespread problems with staff retention;

• the role of the Scrutiny Committee in the health providers’ quality accounts process and the intention of the Committee hearing from health providers prior to the composition of future Quality Account commentary; and

• concern regarding the CQC report on the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the need for greater scrutiny regarding the performance of the Trust.