Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence]. 

An apology for absence was received from Cllr Sandra Samuels. 

There were no substitutions. 

The Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing sent her apologies to the Panel. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

There were no declarations of interest. 

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.]

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2022 were confirmed as a correct record. 

[To consider, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Quality Accounts 2021-2022]. 

The Medical Director, from the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, gave a presentation on, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Quality Accounts.  A copy of the presentation slides are attached to the signed minutes. He identified the key points as follows: -

·       The objectives for 2022/23 had been set based on the priorities of the Trust, the extension of the Trust Organisational Strategy and objectives until August 2022 and considering the impact of Covid-19 for the past two years.

·       The development of a new joint strategy between, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.  Subsequently by Autumn 2022.

·       The Quality Accounts did not contain any information about the CQC National inpatient Survey results for 2021.  The official CQC results were not due until October 2022.

·       The Quality Accounts would be presented to the formal Annual General meeting of the Trust on the 28 September 2022. 

The Chair asked about the compliance rate for mandatory training on the Mental Health Act.  Compliance was only at 68.6% in March 2022.  She asked for an updated figure.  The Medical Director responded that the figure now sat at over 90%.  It was a local offer rather than national mandatory training.

The Chair asked about the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) training which had not been delivered due to Covid.  The report had stated that this intended to be reviewed and delivered within financial year.  She asked if this training was on track to be delivered.  The Medical Director responded that the training was back on track and was being delivered as it was pre-Covid. 

The Chair posed a question regarding the development of a dashboard for deteriorating patients and sepsis.  She asked for a progress update and the benefits of the dashboard.  The Medical Director responded that the dashboard was developed from the electronic system that managed patient observations.  It was a live dashboard used by clinical teams 24 hours a day.

The Vice-Chair commented that quality of care was very important.  Patient views on the care received were important, he would have liked to have seen more on their views in the Quality Accounts.  He also asked about the inequalities the Trust had identified and what were they looking to improve moving forwards.  The statement referred to a drive to improve continuity of care in BAME women during their pregnancy, he asked what improvements were being made.  He referred to the Cancer Improvement Board, which had been delayed.  The report had stated it was due to commence in May, he asked if this had occurred.  He requested the latest position on the 62-day Cancer Performance target.  Finally, he requested clarification on the statement in the Quality Accounts that said the Trust would expand their apprenticeship offer to the diverse population.

The Medical Director responded that patient involvement had been challenging.  Infection prevention measures during Covid had sometimes meant patient engagement was more difficult.  They did want to improve family and friends’ response scores, as they were average when benchmarked.  They were also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

[To receive the Public Health Annual Report 2021-2022]. 

The Public Health Partnership and Governance lead gave a presentation summarising the main points of the Public Health Annual report, a copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes.

The Chair referred to the high amount of indicators marked in the report as red.  There were indicators marked as red across the City from Tettenhall to Graisley.  The Vice-Chair agreed with how the Public Health Partnership Lead had described the current situation as stark and challenging.  On page 106 of the agenda pack / page 8 of the Annual Report document itself, every indicator with the exception of one was marked as red (worse than the national average).   He asked if there was anything the seven neighbouring authorities were carrying out, which the Council were not, which could be copied to try and improve the indicators marked as red.  He was particularly concerned about coronary heart disease and obesity.  Obesity seemed to have got worse over the last few years, rather than better. 

The Director of Public Health responded that he didn’t tend to look at other neighbouring areas to look at what they did well.  There was a real challenge in Wolverhampton due to intergenerational reinforcement.  He believed there was a way of tackling the problems and before the Covid pandemic they were making inroads.  He wanted people to live a long healthy life, free from disease as far as possible.  There were too many people under the age of 75 who were dying too early, often because of Cancer and Cardiovascular disease.  In the short-term one of the steps, they could take was to try and ensure that everyone eligible received a health check.  The later someone was diagnosed with cancer, the worse the prognosis and the chances of a full recovery.  A health check would help improve health outcomes.

The Director of Public Health referred to screening rates which were in a very poor position in Wolverhampton.  How communities were engaged with was key to ensuring that screening rates improved in the City.  He referred to the success there had been in Wolverhampton in reducing drug related deaths, whereas in other places in the country they had increased.  Reducing infant mortality would also significantly improve the overall life expectancy figures.  There had been success in reducing the number of children starting smoking.  In tackling obesity, reducing barriers to places like leisure centres for families would help with the problem.  He also felt this would help improve emotional wellbeing and mental health.  Addressing population public health, connecting people and addressing the areas that caused people to die early was vitally important. 

The Vice-Chair asked the Director of Public Health if the problem with obesity was solvable in Wolverhampton.  He wanted to see improvements and asked when he would be able to see them, things had only got worse since 2015.   The Director of Public Health responded that there were short term interventions that could be implemented, such as initiatives to help increase the amount of physical  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To receive a report on Health Checks and Screening]. 

Public Health Officers gave a detailed presentation on health checks and screening, a copy of the presentation slides are attached to the signed minutes.

The Vice-Chair complemented Officers on the report and presentation.  He would personally be encouraging eligible people to take up screening.  He hoped the services would be as accessible as possible and thought would be given to people who relied on public transport. 

The Chair also encouraged accessible services and making sure there was appropriate capacity.  Thought should be given to the time of appointments to help people who struggled to take time off work.  Encouraging people to complete tests sent out in the post, such as tests for bowel cancer was critical.  Prevention was important to saving lives and helped the NHS manage their resources. 

The Principle Public Health Specialist commented that they didn’t want to fill standard GP Appointments with screening.  Some screening was completed by nurses.  The breast screening van had some success in increasing uptake, when it went to certain areas such as Bilston.  They looked at weekends and evenings as well to encourage uptake.  There were plans in place to look at accessibility and simplicity of wording for invitations.  Being proactive would help in reducing pressure on the NHS. 

The Principle Public Health Specialist commented there were planning meetings with the NHS to ensure screening initiatives didn’t impact on the day-to-day GP appointments.  They also held local events to help encourage uptake and were looking to build on this work.  They had recently carried out health checks at the Mander Centre as part of the outreach work. 

The Chair thanked Officers on behalf of the Panel for the report.  She hoped to see results moving forward. 

[The date of the next scheduled Health Scrutiny Panel is 10 November 2022 at 6pm]. 

The proposed main agenda items are:-

Integrated Care System Strategy

Integrated Care System Priorities

One Wolverhampton Strategy and Priorities

Performance Update / Budget – Healthy Inclusive Communities

It was reported that the date of the next Health Scrutiny Panel would be Friday, 10 November 2022 at 1:30pm.

The proposed main items were: -

Integrated Care System Strategy and Priorities

One Wolverhampton Strategy and Priorities