Agenda and minutes

Councillor Whittle as the Chair of the Joint Commission welcomed both Members of the Public Health and Health Integration and the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission and led on introductions.

The Directors from Public Health and Adult Social Care took the opportunity to introduce themselves along with Public Health Partners.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Westley and the Strategic Director for Social Care and Education, Martin Samuels.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

There were no declarations of Interest.

The Chair took the opportunity to welcome Rob Howard as the new Director of Public Health.

The Chair invited the Chief Operating Officer of the ICB to provide an update following the flooding that affected the East Leicester Medical Practice. As part of the update, it was noted that:

·         Due to the unforeseen circumstances the practice was affected by the flooding incident in June 2023.  Business continuity responses were put in place with immediate effect.

·         Working alongside NHS Property Services, the service was again in operation by 29 August 2023.

·         The robust business continuity plans in place proved to be effective as service to patients continued.

·         Through the process of bringing the service back, lessons were learnt.

In response to Members concerns raised about campaigns that were taking place that suggested that the building was unsafe and not fit for purpose, it was suggested that the process carried out provided an opportunity to assess what could be done to future proof the site alongside the growing areas surrounding the site. Members of the Commission were also reassured that the service was fit for modern consumption.

Members of the Commission thanked the officers for the work carried out to bring the service back.

The Members of the Commission further queried if any of the NHS sites in the city used RAAC building material and the Chief Operating Officer of the UHL noted that none of the buildings in Leicester had been impacted. The Chief Operating Officer of the ICB noted that work was ongoing to carry out analysis of private landlords within the LPT and a full and comprehensive report would be delivered to the Commission.

The Chair requested that the acronyms provided as part of the agenda be visited and updated.  

The Director for Public Health and the Strategic Director for Social Care and Education along with partners from the Health Sector submit a report to the Joint Public Health and Health Integration and the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commissions to summarise health and care system planning to manage winter pressures across Leicester Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) in 2023/2024.

The report comprises of:

1.    A Vaccination and immunisation update.

2.    A summary of the Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) position in LLR. 

3.    The full LLR UEC recovery and delivery plan, finalised on 31^st July 2023.

4.    A summary of Adult Social Care Winter Plan

5.    Beyond the lockdowns: Lessons learned from Leicester's COVID story (Beyond the lockdowns: Lessons learned from Leicester's COVID story)

6.    Fuel Poverty and Health Programme.

Members of the Commission are requested to note the report presented for scrutiny and assurance and pass any comments or queries to relevant City Council Directors and Health Sector partners.

The Chair of the Commission invited Health Partners and Officers to introduce the item and addressed how the items included will be taken.

The Chief Operating Officer introduced the report and provided an overview. As part of the report the improvements on the ambulance service handover times which had a 90% reduction in the waiting times, the improved capacity and the improvements to the tiering system were highlighted. It was suggested that the service was objectively in a better place and partnerships were working well and areas of improvements were being addressed.

As part of the discussions, members of the commission queried the Flu vaccinations alongside the Covid vaccination programme. It was noted that this would be addressed further in the presentations and any comments that were raised would be fed back to the ICB who were delivering the programme.

Members further queried the workforce retention and what impacts the industrial actions were having on the workforce. The Chief Operating Officer took the opportunity to note that the UHL were confident with plans put in place going forward and that and that the NHS Staff Surveys provided actions to support staff retention for all staff and helped recognise the changing UHL which included the cultural changes. More information was requested on the recruitment and retention of NHS Staff which was a national problem and it was suggested that the Health Partners were happy to provide this information at a future meeting but would reassure members that the UHL had become a more flexible employer with more permanently employed colleagues on the ward which had seen better improved care for patients.

The Director for Adult Social Care and Safeguarding delivered a presentation providing the Joint Commission with an overview of the Leicester City Council Adult Social Care Contribution to Winter Planning which identified key parts of Winter Planning to deliver effectively.

As part of the discussions, it was noted that:

·         Issues with national communication campaigns could be identified through previous experiences and considerations of improved local communications would be addressed.

·         A committee of experts decide on the cohorts of people to be vaccinated which followed a specific criteria and was not a political decision.

·         The significant pathway redesign (recovery, reablement and rehabilitation) supported all appropriate discharges home and reduced the use of commissioned care at the point of discharge. 

The Director for Adult Social Care and Commissioning took the opportunity to note that the discharge fund supported those who needed to draw on social care when leaving hospital and supported boosting workforce capacity. It was also noted that the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund helped support the increased fee rates to social care providers and helped support increasing the workforce and retention of staff.

In further discussions, members of the commission queried how the delayed discharge looked across the city. The Director for Social Care and Safeguarding noted that this fluctuated daily and that few people with complex needs usually have a longer discharge wait.  The early discharge planning in place  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Work Programme for the Joint Commission is attached for information.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to take place on 5 October 2023, The next meeting of the Public Health and Health Integration Scrutiny commission was scheduled to take place on 7 November 2023 and the next scheduled meeting of the Joint Adult Social Care and the Public Health and Health Integration Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to take place on 30 November 2023 and  members were asked to note the dates.

The Chair took the opportunity to thank the Democratic Support Officer who was leaving the authority.

The meeting closed at 7.52 pm.