Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting held 1 March 2021.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held 1 March 2021 be confirmed as a true record.

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

Cllr Karen Lucioni declared an interest as a self-employed Personal Assistant.

Cllr Michael Lilley declared an interest as the chairman of the Voluntary Sector Forum and as a trustee of the Isle of Wight Youth Trust.

Members of the public are invited to make representations to the Committee regarding its workplan, either in writing at any time or at a meeting under this item. 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 Wednesday 14 July 2021.

No written public questions were received.

To receive a brief update on Covid-19 recovery plans and vaccinations.

The Director of Public Health provided a brief update on Covid-19 recovery plans and vaccinations. The Committee were advised that despite a recent increase in cases of infections (across all age groups nationally and locally), hospitalisations and deaths remained low. A further increase in cases was expected following the recent relaxation of restrictions, so key activities encouraging cautious optimism were ongoing to prevent the spread of the virus as the vaccination programme continued to be rolled out.

Questions were raised in relation to contact tracing and the rate of vaccination uptake across all age groups. The Chair of the IW CCG provided a brief update on the recently issued guidance around the delivery of a third Covid vaccination to the most clinically vulnerable commencing from September 2021 in conjunction with the flu jab.

RESOLVED:

THAT the update on Covid-19 be noted. 

To consider the following reports:-

The Director of Adult Social Care presented the statutory report which provided information on the complaints received by Adult Social Care during the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, and the subsequent actions and learning adopted to continuously improve the experience of service users.

The Statutory Complaints Officer drew attention to the findings of the Local Government Ombudsman, the timeliness of complaint handling, and the integrated complaints handling across healthcare services. The Committee were advised that services had not seen an increase in complaints at this time in light of the pandemic.

Questions were raised in relation to the steps taken to seek the views of service users who do not wish to make a formal complaint. The Committee were referred to the results of the 2019/21 national user/carer survey which placed the Isle of Wight in the top 15% of councils.

RESOLVED:

i)               THAT the statutory Adult Social Care Annual Complaints Report 2020-21, including the integrated complaint handling practice, be noted.

ii)              THAT the staff involved in the handling of complaints be commended on the efficiency of the service provided.

The Director of Adult Social Care and Housing Needs presented information on the performance and budget for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Needs during the period 31 January 2021 to 31 March 2021, and the committee received an update on Care Closer to Home.

Attention was drawn to information related to integrated discharge arrangements, the Living Well service, the Supporting People programme, the single person homelessness pathway; and the increasing numbers of DoLS applications and individuals permanently in living in care homes. Discussion took place regarding the budget position and future funding, and it was advised that the service currently projected an underspend.

The Chairman, committee and all health partners paid tribute to the outstanding work undertaken by Dr Tozer and her immeasurable contribution and achievements to the lives of Island residents and wished her well in her retirement.

RESOLVED:

THAT the update on performance and budget be noted.

The committee received the CQC report which rated the Shared Lives service to be ‘Good’ across all criteria. The committee congratulated those involved in the service on the outcome of the inspection. The Director of Adult Social Care advised that there were plans to increase the capacity of the Shared Lives team.

The Deputy Chief Executive of the IW NHS Trust provided a brief update on the recent CQC inspection of IW NHS Trust services. It was advised that initial informal feedback had been positive and the inspection report (due to be published in September 2021) was expected to reflect the improvements that had been made.

RESOLVED:

THAT the CQC inspection report on Shared Lives IW be noted.

To receive an update from the IW CCG and Adult Social Care and discuss the implications for the health scrutiny function.

The Director of Transition and Development for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System (ICS) presented the report which provided an update on the ongoing development of the ICS following the publication of the Government White Paper in February 2021 which outlined plans to support the development of ICS’s as statutory organisations. No questions were raised at this stage and the update was noted.

RESOLVED:

THAT the update be noted.

To consider the following reports:-

The Manager of Healthwatch Isle of Wight presented the report which was developed to reflect the views and feelings of people who had been affected by suicide. It was noted that since starting this piece of work in 2019, positive changes had been underway particularly in relation to improved access to mental health services.

The Director of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities at the IW NHS Trust provided an update on the integrated mental health hub and the ‘no wrong door’ strategy, to improve access to mental health services. The Director of Public Health referred to the suicide prevention strategy which would be refreshed and presented to the committee when appropriate.

Questions were raised in relation to delayed data and future plans for walk-in community mental health hubs across the Island. The committee explored the possibility of forming a task and finish group on this matter, however it was agreed that the committee would wait for the response from the Health and Wellbeing Board on how it planned to review the strategy. 

RESOLVED:

THAT the recommendations contained within the report be supported.

The Manager of Healthwatch Isle of Wight presented the report on dentistry which had been chosen as a priority topic for 2020/21 as the number of people reporting issues within this area had increased rapidly.

Key areas of concern were around inequalities in access to NHS dentists particularly in relation to children. Dialogue with NHS England was ongoing and an oral needs assessment for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight was expected, which would look at the level of provision against the level of need.

RESOLVED:

THAT the recommendations contained within the report be supported.

The Chairman of Healthwatch Isle of Wight presented the annual report. It was highlighted that there had been increased public engagement during the pandemic, which had informed intelligence reports which were regularly shared with health partners to give feedback on patient experiences reflecting current issues.

The Manager of Healthwatch Isle of Wight provided an update on key projects, including work with the Safeguarding Adults Board looking at the possible implications of changes in processes and procedures across a number of agencies during the pandemic. Additionally, Healthwatch were supporting Kings College London in a project looking at what makes an environment ‘homely’ for people with a learning disability; and was working with the General Medical Council in a pilot project with the aim of improving NHS complaints handling.

The Committee passed its thanks to Healthwatch and the report was noted.

RESOLVED:

THAT the Healthwatch Isle of Wight Annual Report 2020-21 be noted.

To consider the future workplan and to identify any key issues that should be included.

Consideration was given to the future workplan, and the Committee and health partners were invited to identify any key issues that should be included. No comments were made at this stage.

RESOLVED:

THAT the workplan 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 5pm on Thursday 15 July 2021. 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.

No written questions were received.