Agenda and minutes

The Evacuation Procedure was noted.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 27 September 2023.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Health and Wellbeing Board considered an update from the health protection collaborative on ongoing work on winter planning.

Winter 2022/23 presented significant challenges to communities and the health and wellbeing being system with cost of living pressures, ongoing Covid circulation, flu and other respiratory infections.

The picture for this winter was not yet known but planning was underway to monitor and mitigate the impacts as well as prevent escalation where possible.

The update covered surveillance systems, Covid and flu vaccinations, work with settings and communities and the local health protection response.

Key issues discussed were as follows:

•           With regard to attendance at work places, Covid infections were now treated the same as other infection and there was no longer a testing requirement. However, where staff worked with vulnerable people, access to tests and local protocols on attendance should be in place

•           Administering the Covid vaccine was not as straightforward as the flu vaccine and required additional staff training as well as particular requirements for mixing and storage. As a result, not all GP practices offered both vaccines

•           Take up of the flu vaccine amongst Council employees appeared to be good and a further update could be provided by NHS colleagues at the end of the season

RESOLVED that the update be noted and key messages to staff supported on winter wellness, including vaccinations.

This Board received a presentation from Kamimi Shah (NHS England) on oral health. The presentation covered:

•           Oral Health Needs Assessment and recommendations

•           The impact of poor dental health

•           The evidence base for prevention programmes

•           Existing work around oral health promotion

•           Dental decay prevalence decrease in Teesside 2007/08 to 2016/17

•           Community Water Fluoridation

Key issues highlighted and discussed were as follows:

•           Although there had been improvements in dental health, there remained significant oral health inequalities

•           Fluoridation helped to level out oral health inequalities

•           Supervised tooth brushing schemes were taking place in Stockton schools as part of the Healthy Schools Programme. A small number of schools were not taking part in the programme, however, this was not due to an unwillingness to participate and Council officers were working with schools to provide support for their involvement

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

Presentation to follow.

This Board received a presentation from Kamimi Shah (NHS England) on oral health. The presentation covered:

•           Oral Health Needs Assessment and recommendations

•           The impact of poor dental health

•           The evidence base for prevention programmes

•           Existing work around oral health promotion

•           Dental decay prevalence decrease in Teesside 2007/08 to 2016/17

•           Community Water Fluoridation

Key issues highlighted and discussed were as follows:

•           Although there had been improvements in dental health, there remained significant oral health inequalities

•           Fluoridation helped to level out oral health inequalities

•           Supervised tooth brushing schemes were taking place in Stockton schools as part of the Healthy Schools Programme. A small number of schools were not taking part in the programme, however, this was not due to an unwillingness to participate and Council officers were working with schools to provide support for their involvement

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

Presentation to follow.

This Board received a presentation from James Bromiley (Associate Director of Group Development) on the Group Model and Partnership Agreement. The presentation covered:

•           Drivers for the collaboration

•           Group model development

•           The purpose of the Partnership Agreement

•           The Group Operating Model

•           Partnership Management and Governance

•           Clinical Strategy

•           Timeline

Key issues highlighted and discussed were as follows:

•              A key driver for the change was creating a stronger single and coherent voice for the health needs of the community

•              The Group Model built on years of collaborative working

•              The Partnership Agreement would set out at high level how the Group Model would operate

•              The Model would adopt a “patient first” principle and a joint clinical strategy

•              The Partnership Agreement was due to be considered by boards in late November with a view to implementation in Quarter 1 of 2024/25

•              There was an acknowledged need for improvement in record sharing and forming the Group would provide a stronger business case for funding for digital investment

•              Merger was not on the agenda at the present time. The Trusts would continue to submit their own accounts and the proposed arrangements would not be to the financial detriment of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS FT Trust

•              No adverse impact on travelling time was anticipated as a result of the changes and there were plans to roll out more services into the community

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

RESOLVED that this item be deferred to the next meeting of the Board.

It was agreed that an item would be included on the next Board agenda regarding the recent Government Announcement on Smoking.

RESOLVED that the forward plan be noted.