Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3 - 3rd Floor - Civic Centre. View directions

Contact: Earl Piggott-Smith  Tel: 01902 551251 or Email: earl.piggott-smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from the following member(s) of the panel:

 

Councillor Craig Collingswood

Councillor Phil Page

Councillor Arun Photay

Elizabeth Learoyd  - Wolverhampton Healthwatch

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Minutes of previous meeting (2 March 2017) pdf icon PDF 92 KB

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

 

Minutes:

The minutes to be amended to include Cllr Martin Waite as being in attendance.

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2017, subject to the agreed changes, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

4.

Matters Arising

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes.]

 

Minutes:

The panel agreed to receive a further update on the progress of the Black Country Sustainability and Transformation Plan at a future meeting.

 

The Chair advised the panel that the next meeting will be held at Wolverhampton Healthwatch offices. The details of the venue will be sent in advance of the meeting on 25.5.17.

 

The first part of the meeting will be annual health planning event –this will give panel members to opportunity to consider topics to be included on the work programme for 2017/18.

 

The Chair advised the panel that in future a summary of the discussion points and agreed actions from the Health and Wellbeing Board rather than the draft minutes will be included in the papers.

 

Resolved:

 

The Service Director Public Health & Wellbeing to draft summary paper of key discussions and action papers from Health and Wellbeing Board meeting..

 

 

5.

Oral Health of Children in Wolverhampton pdf icon PDF 2 MB

[Katie Spence, Consultant in Public Health, to give a presentation and briefing paper on the standard of oral health of children in Wolverhampton, the inequalities that exist, and what is being done to address this issue]

Minutes:

Katie Spence, Consultant in Public Health, introduced the presentation. The Consultant in Public Health introduced Anna Hunt-Smith, Consultant in Dental Public Health, Public Health England; who will provide further details about the work done to improve oral health in children.

 

The Consultant in Public Health outlined the responsibilities of Public Health to provide or commission oral health programmes and also to commission or provide oral health surveys. An oral survey is completed every two years which provides data to track and monitor changes in oral health of children under five.

 

The Consultant in Public Health advised the panel that a report on adult oral health could be presented to a future meeting, if the panel would find this useful.  The Consultant in Public Health advised the panel that tooth decay is preventable and nationally   trends show an improving situation.

 

The Consultant in Public Health outlined the main findings of the survey. The panel were advised that there was concern about the results as Wolverhampton has benefited from having water fluoridation, but despite this it performs poorly compared to other areas in the West Midland and England based on results of a survey of five year olds for the period 2014-15.

 

The panel commented on the results of analysis at local ward level who took part in the oral health survey. The Consultant in Public Health commented on the link between areas of high levels of deprivation and tooth decay. The panel discussed the need for more specific targeted work in the most affected areas.

 

The Consultant in Public Health on the damage done to children’s teeth caused by drinking fruit juices and fizzy drinks  which contain high concentrations of sugar. The panel queried the progress in the introduction of ‘sugar tax’. Ros Jervis, Service Director- Public Health and Wellbeing, briefed the panel on current proposals being considered by Government about the level of tax.

 

The Consultant in Public Health briefed the panel on the work of Wolverhampton Special Care Dental Service (WSCDS) (WSCDS provides dental care and treatment for special care patients including vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups in the area)

 

Anna Hunt-Smith, Consultant in Dental Public Health, commented on the introduction of the PHE toolkit for prevention and the positive response from health professionals who is it to have a positive  conversation with parents about improving dental care.

 

The Consultant in Dental Public Health updated the panel on ten key areas for action and progress to date.

 

 

 

Anna Hunt-Smith, Consultant in Dental Public Health commented on the importance of parents checking the concentration of fluoride in toothpaste and encouraged the use of fluoride varnish among vulnerable groups to protect teeth and gums. The amount of fluoride that's in the toothpaste can be found on the side of the tube and is measured in parts per million (ppm). Toothpastes containing 1350-1500ppm fluoride are the most effective.

 

The panel discussed the dental care needs of refugees and migrants and the work done to provide to improve dental care and the potential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust - Infection Prevention performance data - Q4 2016-17

[Jeremy Vanes, Chairman, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Hospital Trust to present report on annual hospital infection rates]

Minutes:

Jeremy Vanes, Chair of RWHT, introduced the report and commented that in the past the hospital was an outlier in performance for infection rates. The Chair advised the panel that hospital infections can lead to patient death in some cases or longer planned stays to treat the effect.

 

The Chair introduced the report on the main infection prevention performance data for Q4 2016-17 and commented on the good progress made to reduce the number of infections.  Vanessa Whatley, Head of Nursing, Corporate Services, RWHT, gave a detailed overview of the performance data and the specific measures taken to reduce the number infections.

 

The Head of Nursing commented on the work done with staff working in nursing homes to reduce the use of antibiotics, for example, giving advice on making it easier to isolate infected patients and reduce the risk to other residents. The Head of Nursing commented on the challenge of antibiotic resistant strains and the importance of continued vigilance to maintain high standards of infection control – for example, maintaining hand hygiene.  The Head of Nursing commented that there is strong focus on prevention as the use of antibiotics were seen as a long term solution to improving future performance, there was support continued public information about the limitations of antibiotics.

 

The panel queried the methods used to maintain hygiene standard. The Head of Nursing commented that a monthly audit is done of standards; in addition new technology has been introduced to monitor hand hygiene standards and on-going education for staff and the correct use of protective equipment.

 

The Head of Nursing commented on the work done to reduce the number of MRSA cases in care homes and the hospital offers a seven day on call infection support to provide advice. The Head of Nursing than an outbreak of an infection could lead to the temporary closure of the ward.  The Head of Nursing commented on the progress in reducing the number of clostridium difficile cases.

 

The panel discussed the cleaning schedule for hospital toilets. The Head of Nursing commented on the current schedule and extra checks done to main standards of hygiene and cleanliness.

 

The panel thanked witnesses for the report and contributions to the discussion.

 

Resolved:

            The panel agreed to note the report and welcome the progress made to reduce the number of infections.

7.

Access to GP Surgeries pdf icon PDF 360 KB

[Steven Marshall, Director of Strategy & Transformation, Wolverhampton CCG, to present report]

 

Minutes:

Dr Helen Hibbs, Wolverhampton CCG, presented the report on behalf of Steven Marshall. Dr Hibbs gave an overview of the work being done to improve public access to primary care and offer a more joined up approach.

 

Dr Hibbs advised the panel how increased funding to primary care had been used to invest in local schemes to achieve the target for improvement. In total, 93 projects will be delivered over the next five years to achieve improvements – for example, investing more money in general practice, addressing workforce difficulties which has been identified as a major threat to the delivery of general practice in the future. The CCG will have responsibility for the oversight of the programmes and monitoring progress towards to the areas identified for improvement and address the concerns of patients when accessing care in general practice.

 

Dr Hibbs, explained that representatives of the CCG are working with GP practice managers to increase patient access and work on 10 high impact areas summarised in appendix 1 of the report. Dr Hibbs, added that there were plans to roll out successful projects when extra funding from the NHS has been agreed, but commented that the major challenge is the increase in the number of patients is the underlying problem facing the health service.

 

The panel queried the impact on patient care of the project involving 18 practices and how three practices providing cover would be able to access medical information to provide continuity of care offered, if they had been able to visit their own GP. Dr Hibbs replied that the CCG is working to get all practices to the same level, while accepting that there still some variety in standards which need to be improved. Dr Hibbs advised that the GP practices providing cover would have access to patient records during the period. In addition, the CCG is encouraging practices to provide more routine appointments and also specialist

 

 

 

8.

Towards an Active City – a physical activity framework pdf icon PDF 512 KB

[Richard Welch, Head of Healthier Place, and Andrea  Fieldhouse, Active People and Places Manager, to present report]

 

Minutes:

Richard Welch, Head of Healthier Place, and Andrea Fieldhouse, Active People and Places Manager, jointly presented the report. The Head of Healthier Place outlined the background to the development of the physical activity strategy aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of Wolverhampton residents. The Head of Healthier Place advised the panel of the links between the local strategy and the national strategy guidance published by Sport England.

 

The Head of Healthier Place commented on data on levels of physical activity reported in Public Health Outcomes Framework for Wolverhampton and how the results compare to recommended levels of physical activity. The Head of Healthier Place briefed the panel on the details of the strategy outlined in Appendix 1 and 2 of the report.

 

The Head of Healthier Place added the plans involves working with local communities on an ‘industrial scale’ to encourage a further 27,000 people to take part in a physical activity and the role of community leaders in supporting this work. The Head of Healthier Place commented on the work done to encourage 20 local businesses to get involved in the connected places strategy by highlighting the potential benefits, for example, reduced staff turnover, increased productivity.

 

The panel commented on concerns about road safety and evidence from other places of having car free zones and how it impacts on levels of fitness and well-being. The Head of Healthier Place accepted the benefits of such plans and how behaviour is shaped by traffic flows. The Service Director, Public Health and Wellbeing, briefed the panel about the main messages from a conference aimed at promoting the use of cycling  and the ideas suggested that could be used to create safer spaces and offer public reassurance. The issue of traffic is a concern across the region and also for West Midlands Combined Authority.

 

The Service Director commented on pilots being tested about the use of 20 mph speed limit zones. The panel commented on the issue of how this would be enforced. The Service Director on the use of ‘no ball game’ signs in areas and impact that this has efforts on encourage children to play games outside to improve fitness and wellbeing. The Service Director commented on the need to have a conversation with local residents about the importance of encouraging children to be active every day, while trying to meet their concerns.

 

The panel discussed the impact of traffic on children and concern about the reduction over time in street games. The panel discussed the examples from Holland where residents have made changes which have led to the introduction of ‘play streets’, where no cars are allowed to create safe spaces.

 

The panel discussed the barriers to encouraging specific groups such as girls and people aged over to either maintain or increase current levels of physical activity and the benefits. The Head of Healthier Place accepted the challenge in getting young people aged 11-13 years to keep active and that the issue has been discussed by members of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Health and Wellbeing Board - Draft Minutes (29.3.17) pdf icon PDF 99 KB

[Please note that these are draft minutes and will be presented to Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on 28.6.17 for review and approval.]

Minutes:

Ros Jervis, Service Director, Public Health and Wellbeing, advised that panel in future a summary of the key discussion points rather than minutes will be sent to the panel. The current minutes have not been ratified by the Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

Resolved:

            The panel agreed to note the minutes.

 

 

10.

Informal Joint Meeting with Staffordshire County Council and City of Wolverhampton Council and Royal Wolverhampton NHS Hospital Trust - 13 February 2017 pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Minutes:

The panel agreed to note the minutes. The agreed to add Cllr Martin Waite to the list of people who gave apologies at the meeting.