Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 January 2022.

THAT the minutes of the 27 January 2022 be approved.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

No declarations were received at this stage.

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Therefore the deadline for written questions will be Monday, 25 April 2022.

Cllr John Nicholson asked what action was being taken to address the short fall of medical professionals on the Island across the different health sectors.

It was explained that there had been a shortage of professionals working in pharmacies for quite some time, but this had become more acute in the past 2 months. It was stated that Pharmacy is commissioned by NHS England, rather than the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and that there was a national shortage of pharmacists as well as a local shortage.

It was highlighted that there were huge workforce challenges nationwide across all the health sectors and that social care showed the most critical level of shortages of staff.

The IW NHS Director of Governance and Risk stated that the trust was taking a creative approach to address the problem.

There were tasks that remained in the domain of registered physicians, but they were implementing a system of physician associates. Work was also   being done with the universities and there were apprentice routes into pharmacy and the paramedic profession.

The NHS had seen improvement in its CQC rating which was now recognised as good, and initiatives were in place to promote the Island as a good place to live and work.

The Director of Public Health stated that many coastal regions suffered from inequality in services. The need to train locally was declared as a step forward in addressing staff shortages.

The Chairman to verbally update the board on progress on actions since the last meeting, including actions that have not been dealt with as a separate agenda item and to invite partners to advise on any extraordinary issues which may affect the work of the board.

The Chairman gave an update on the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) in which it was announced that a local steering group had met.

Responses to a questionnaire had been collated and it was stated that a draft document would be circulated to NHS England and the Public Health Management Team prior to the 60 days public consultation period. It would come to back to the Board for signing off in the Autumn.

The issue of violence against women and girls was also highlighted and it was stated that the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, was committed to developing this work and that the Director of Public Health would also be working with the Police on this matter.

To receive an update on the current Covid-19 situation.

It was stated that data collection around Covid cases had changed since the last meeting of the Board. Previously data had been collated using a community and hospital testing system (Pillar I and Pillar 2). The new government strategy for Covid had dismantled all of Pillar 2 requirements.

It was stated that whilst Covid cases on the Island were still quite high, they seemed to be plateauing.

It was acknowledged that although the data collection was not as robust as it was prior to April, this item could be removed from the agenda unless it became of renewed concern.

RESOLVED:

THAT this item be removed from the Agenda unless it became of renewed concern.

To receive an update on the Covid-19 recovery plan.

It was highlighted to the Board that the impact of the pandemic would be felt for some time.

This was coupled with the fact that there was an immediate need for more affordable housing and that the situation was further exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis, rising fuel and utilities prices, all coming on the back of the pandemic.

It was explained that there was the need to tackle the situation with an anti-poverty approach, which needed to be an integrated strategic approach with all agencies working together.

It was stated that local business community grants had been successful but that the Central Government allocation of funds to the Isle of Wight as part of the ‘levelling up’ agenda had been woeful, with only £1m being allocated.

Work was continuing in promoting the Island as a good place to do business, work and live, and it was suggested that the Recovery Cell be continued.

The Council’s ‘Keep the Island Safe’ campaign was tributed in providing support to many people in need, and that the program was still in place.

The subject of Food Banks was discussed, and it was questioned if they were a sustainable long-term solution. It was stated that Community Pantries offered a slightly different approach, whereby those in need paid £5 a week and were guaranteed a minimum of £15 worth of food a week. The Pantry scheme offered a much wider range of fresh, frozen, and store-cupboard food along with recipe cards, and was described as a membership scheme which saw new relationships and support being forged.

It was announced that the first Community Pantry had opened in East Cowes and that other Community Pantries would be opening in Ventnor and Ryde in May.

It was reiterated that poverty was detrimental to health and wellbeing, and that a multi-agency approach to the problem was essential. It was stated that statistics were now showing just how widespread the problem was becoming, with a 33% increase in those now received free school meals and 32,000 food vouchers had been issued on the Island during last year.

It was concluded that it was important to remember that Covid rates were still high, and that attention must be given to the possibility that the Island would be still dealing with the virus as winter approached with all the problems that would bring.

RESOLVED:

THAT the Covid Recovery be noted and that the Recovery Cell be continued.

The Health and Wellbeing strategy focused on inequalities and recovery, improving health through housing, mental health and wellbeing, and supporting the physically active strategy.

A semi-final draft had been completed for discussion at the workshop following on from the Board meeting.

RESOLVED:

THAT the progress and timeframe of the Health and Wellbeing strategy be noted.

It was explained that work was underway to align the Health and Care Plan with the Health and Wellbeing Strategy which would bring together the priorities of both documents in to one paper. When this work had been concluded, a final version would be given to the Integrated Care Partnership Board (ICP) in June. After the ICP Board’s review of the draft document, it would then be brought back to the Health and Wellbeing Board for approval.

It was explained that the public survey had closed at the end of March 2022 and that the data had been analysed. The final draft, which would include feedback from the workshop, was expected to be completed at the end of May, which would lead on to an action plan that would be finalised in July

Concerns were raised about the Board being able to have input into the draft final document, rather than just rubber stamp it, but in response, it was affirmed that this report had been the work of several partners who had worked together and there would be ample time for scrutiny.

RESOLVED:

THAT the Health and Care Plan work be noted

To guarantee a reply to a question, a question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 9.30 am on Tuesday, 26 April 2022. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

Questions were raised if data from the prisons were included in the statistics of the reports, and in response, it was confirmed that this would be investigated.

The mental health and wellbeing of looked after children, home educated children and excluded children, was questioned due to a recent report commissioned by the Youth Trust which showed very worrying statistics for these groups of children.

It was stated that a huge amount of work was being done to keep all the services moving but there was concern about the influx of Ukrainian refuges who might require specific mental health help in trauma, impact, recovery.