Agenda item

Members were asked to consider a Care and Health Winter Planning Update report which, with the permission of the Chair, had been added to this meeting agenda as an urgent item in order to ensure the Committee had the opportunity to review and comment ahead of the report going to the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Cabinet on 14 November 2024.

Introduced by the SBC Director of Public Health, it was stated that the report was owned by the Health and Wellbeing Board and covered the Council’s care and health winter planning arrangements (as part of the Board’s system assurance role).  The report would be going to the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on 30 October 2024 and covered the following elements:

·       Winter planning (including integration workshops and admissions avoidance)

·       Infectious disease surveillance (including COVID, flu and vaccinations)

·       Health protection work with key settings (including local response)

·       Adult social care support (including demand and capacity management)

·       Housing

·       Supporting our communities (including food support and Community Spaces)

·       Consultation and engagement

·       Next steps

The report outlined SBC involvement in the wider winter planning infrastructure and several elements were subsequently highlighted, including the oversight of NHS planning and co-ordination of partners by the Tees Valley Local A&E Delivery Board (LAEDB) to mitigate the impact of winter.  The LAEDB was compiling a comprehensive overview of winter plan arrangements and would share this with the wider system in November 2024.  Attention was also drawn to data on COVID-19 hospitalisations (which continued to have an unpredictable pattern of peaks and troughs), the Council’s Rough Sleeper Team, and the wide range of support being offered to the Borough’s communities.

Praising officers for presenting this report to the Committee prior to it being considered by both the Health and Wellbeing Board and SBC Cabinet, Members proceeded to raise a number of comments and questions.  Commending the Council’s PAMMS inspections of local care providers (robust monitoring arrangements which aided families to make informed choices), the Committee queried whether the stated ‘capacity to undertake up to a further 6 assessment of services which intelligence indicates may be at risk’ (paragraph 36) would include a look into the SBC First Contact service following recent issues highlighted around the Council’s ‘front door’.  Officers confirmed that incident reporting intelligence would help inform where future PAMMS inspections should be undertaken.

Clarity was sought on the ‘ensure home first’ / ‘Discharge 2 Assess (D2A)’ approach (paragraphs 40-42), with officers explaining that this was an initiative to get those who were medically fit to leave hospital out of such settings.  Individuals were discharged to their own home where an assessment would then be undertaken to establish their care and support needs.

Noting the section on ‘monitoring the impact of winter on local people and the social care workforce’, Members asked if the Council’s ‘capacity dashboard’ was available to all professionals so there was transparency around any surplus capacity in local provision.  The Committee heard that the referenced ‘holding list’ (paragraph 43) existed due to service demand, with relevant managers meeting on a regular basis to discuss who was on it (which changed on a daily basis) and who should be prioritised.

The Committee moved its focus onto the current situation regarding COVID, commenting that local hospitalisation rates appeared higher compared to other areas.  Officers stated that there was not always a pure reason for an increase in cases, but that existing ill-health (co-morbidities) made it more likely individuals would be more significantly impacted if they contracted the virus.  Whilst the reasons for fluctuating COVID rates were not fully understood (it was noted that it was now harder to capture information compared to the early days of COVID), greater proportions of people working in public-facing roles could be a factor.

Continuing with the theme of infectious diseases, Members asked if the 14 listed sites offering both COVID-19 and flu vaccines (appendix 3) was sufficient across the Borough (some anomalies with the stated and actual offer at some community pharmacies was also highlighted, including duplicate entries for Fairfield Pharmacy).  Officers gave assurance that access to vaccinations was spread as wide as possible across Stockton-on-Tees and that it was up to the sites to put themselves forward to offer these.  There was no indication that coverage was insufficient or that the local population was unable to get to the Borough’s pharmacies, and the sites listed were the most up-to-date the Council had.

Welcoming the SBC Public Health partnership-working with the GP Federation (paragraph 21), the Committee sought feedback from the recent Winter Health Conference that was held on 1 October 2024 (paragraph 47).  Officers spoke of the development of bespoke clinics supporting substance misuse which would be promoted via organisations with links to affected individuals (e.g. hostels, CGL) and through the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector – dates could be provided if required.  Members urged the promotion of the Employment and Training Hub (the venue for the Winter Health Conference).

Concluding this item, responses to further Committee queries confirmed that production of the Winter Wellbeing Guide (paragraph 49) would include distribution of hard-copies to selected groups, and further evidence of crisis support provided by the Council (e.g. foodbanks) would be added to the report prior to its presentation to SBC Cabinet.

AGREED that the Care and Health Winter Planning Update report, and the subsequent Committee comments in relation to its content, be noted.