Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3 - Civic Centre, St Peter's Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1SH

Contact: Shelley Humphries  Tel: 01902 554070 email: shelley.humphries@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor John Reynolds, Sally Roberts and David Loughton.

2.

Notification of substitute members

Minutes:

Chief Inspector Helen Jackson attended for Chief Superintendent Andy Beard, Becky Wilkinson attended for David Watts, Andrea Smith attended for Steven Marshall and Hannah Pawley attended for Lynsey Kelly.

3.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made.

4.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 332 KB

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

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of 16 October 2019 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

5.

Matters arising

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.]

Minutes:

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

6.

Health and Wellbeing Together Forward Plan 2019 - 2020 pdf icon PDF 442 KB

[To receive the Health and Wellbeing Together Forward Plan 2019 - 2020.]

Minutes:

Madeleine Freewood, Development Manager presented the Health and Wellbeing Together Forward Plan 2019 – 2020 and outlined the planned agenda items for future meetings.

 

Members were invited to offer suggestions for agenda items for other meetings. It was suggested that items relating to the Workforce Development priority and the 5G Working Group had been scheduled on the forward plan, as well as an item on the Growing Well Strategy in relation to the prevention of obesity.

 

Resolved:

That the Health and Wellbeing Together Forward Plan 2019 - 2020 be noted.

7.

Growing Well: Children and Families Together Board Contribution to Delivery of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy pdf icon PDF 392 KB

[To receive the updated Children, Young people and Families Plan, including the Co-production Charter and Youth Engagement Strategy.]

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Emma Bennett, Director of Children’s Services presented the Growing Well: Children and Families Together Board Contribution to the Delivery of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS) 2018 - 2023. The report provided an overview of the activity undertaken by the Children and Families Together Board to provide assurance to the Health and Wellbeing Together membership that the ‘Growing Well’ priority areas identified as of strategic importance were being appropriately addressed.

 

It was outlined that the Children and Families Together Board, formerly known as the Children’s Trust Board, sat underneath Health and Wellbeing Together as a sub-board to drive forward priorities underneath the ‘Growing Well’ theme of the JHWBS.

 

It was noted that the Children, Young People and Families Plan had been refreshed and signed off by Children and Families Together Board.

Key priorities were identified as: mental health and wellbeing, work around the prevention of the risk of obesity, reducing the number of families using bed and breakfasts as temporary accommodation, reducing school exclusions and promoting inclusion.

 

It was reported that, during the Children and Families Together Strategy Day held in May 2019, there had been commitment from partners to work towards co-production. A Co-production Charter had been devised which had been co-developed with children, young people and their families, the Council and its partners to pledge to work with residents to decide together how Council services should be delivered.

 

The Youth Engagement Strategy also known as #YES had served as a good example of co-production as an extensive consultation had taken place with young people and their families.

 

An update was provided in respect of the transition of the combined safeguarding boards to Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together, chaired by Sally Roberts, Chief Nurse and Director of Quality at Wolverhampton CCG. Assurance was offered to Health and Wellbeing Together members that this transition was progressing well with no significant risks identified.

 

The report and the work that had gone into the Youth Engagement Strategy and Co-production Charter was commended and it was agreed that children and young people were a priority for the City.

 

It had been highlighted that feedback from the Youth Engagement Strategy consultation conveyed the strong message that young people and their families preferred activities they could participate in independently or as a family.

It was noted that the holiday scheme had been very well received and it had been reported by West Midlands Police that crime had reduced by 48% during the period in which the scheme ran.

 

The Co-production Charter was particularly commended by partners as it was noted that engagement and maintaining engagement was a difficult 

process to undertake.

 

As ward Councillors for Bilston, Councillor Linda Leach and Councillor Philip Page commended and offered their support to the holiday scheme and reported that it had not only been well attended in their ward area but had received very positive feedback.

 

It was noted that, in addition to the consultation for the Co-Production Charter, decision-making on the funding had been shared with young people and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Substance Misuse Partnership Update pdf icon PDF 389 KB

[To receive the outcomes of the Licensing Policy Consultation and endorse the system approach to tackling substance related harm.]

Minutes:

Michelle Smith, Principal Public Health Specialist presented the Substance Misuse Partnership Update report and highlighted salient points. The report provided an outline to Health and Wellbeing Together of the intended approach to tackling substance related harm, which built upon the Board’s previous commitment to the alcohol harm reduction agenda.

 

It was noted that alcohol misuse had been agreed as a priority within the Living Well theme of Wolverhampton’s Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS) 2018 – 2023.

 

A short presentation was also delivered which provided an overview of the substance related hospital admissions and mortality rates as well as drug prevalence in a local context and outlined the proposed priorities for the City.

 

It was noted that alcohol dependence within the City was higher than the national average however it was highlighted that, in terms of the recovery of people receiving support, Wolverhampton had been placed in the top quartile nationally.

 

It had been noted that the sizable and complex issues of alcohol and drug dependency could not be tackled without a joined-up approach, therefore the Substance Misuse Partnership had been established in July 2019 with a view to developing a new Substance Misuse Strategy. It was highlighted that an alcohol misuse strategy had previously been in place in 2012, however the proposed strategy was the first to include drug misuse as well. It was suggested that an update be provided to Health and Wellbeing Together in future.

 

Of the priorities listed for the City, four key areas were touched upon and a number of points and statistics were highlighted.

 

To improve Outcomes in Housing, Employment and Mental Health:

It was highlighted that whilst successfully undergoing treatment, 85 residents had been supported into gaining employment and 129 had been assisted in resolving housing problems.

 

To reduce Drug-related Deaths:

It was reported there were plans to widen the availability of the synthetic drug naloxone, used to counter the effects of overdose. It was noted that work was being undertaken to introduce an early warning system to raise the alert to bad batches of drugs entering the market.  It was reported that the concept of establishing an inquiry panel to investigate and learn from drug-related deaths was being explored.

 

To reduce the impact of parental substance misuse

It was reported that, in Wolverhampton over a three-year period, 1450 children had a parent receiving treatment for alcohol dependence. Based on prevalence data there was an 82% unmet need for alcohol dependence. On this basis there were many more people to engage into treatment, many of whom would be parents. It was reported that 1159 children had a parent in treatment for an opiate dependency, given an unmet need of 55% there were many people and families who should be engaged with treatment and recovery services. It was noted that these figures appeared stark however they were in line with UK national figures.

 

To reduce the density of alcohol licensed premises

Work was being undertaken in partnership with responsible authorities in terms of representations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Healthwatch Wolverhampton Annual Report 2018 - 2019 pdf icon PDF 161 KB

[To receive the Healthwatch Wolverhampton annual report.]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Tracy Cresswell, Healthwatch Wolverhampton Manager presented the Healthwatch Wolverhampton Annual Report 2018 - 2019 and highlighted salient points. The report provided an overview of progress made against Healthwatch Wolverhampton’s statutory functions and the impact of the delivery of Healthwatch services in the City.

 

It was noted that the feedback around hospital discharge and review had been taken on board by Adult Services.

 

It was highlighted that the Healthwatch Wolverhampton service had been shortlisted for the Healthwatch Network Award for Championing Diversity and Inclusion following the extensive work undertaken to improve the wellbeing of the deaf community. This was commended as to be shortlisted from a large number of services was an achievement.

 

It was raised that it had been disappointing that no response had been received from New Cross Hospital in terms of the feedback and recommendations provided following the unannounced visit to Ward A12 of New Cross. It was noted that a 10-day response deadline had been set, which was extended if required, and that usually 9 out of 10 providers offered a response to their feedback.

 

The annual report and work undertaken by Healthwatch was commended.

 

Resolved:

That the Healthwatch Wolverhampton Annual Report 2018 - 2019 be received.