Agenda item

Wolverhampton Covid-19 Outbreak Control Plan

[To scrutinise the Wolverhampton Covid-19 Outbreak Control Plan]. 

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health gave a presentation on Wolverhampton’s Covid-19, Outbreak Control Plan.  He stated that all Local Directors of Public Health had been notified on 22 May 2020 to develop and publish Covid-19 Outbreak Control Plans by 1 July 2020.  Wolverhampton’s plan was co-signed by health partners demonstrating the continued theme of partnership working throughout the pandemic.  The aim of the plan was to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and to save lives.  In addition, to helping as many people as possible return to normal life, in a way that was safe, protected the health and care systems and supported the Wolverhampton economy to recover.  A return to normal life did not necessarily mean a return to normality as the world was still living with Covid-19.  This was a challenge for the health system.  The two aims of the plan meant they would:

 

·       Prevent the spread of Covid-19 wherever possible.

·       Improve engagement with local residents to encourage participation in prevention and build trust and confidence in the City’s outbreak response. 

·       Identify outbreaks and complex cases early and respond quickly to prevent further transmission.

·       Build on existing partnerships and expanding networks of stakeholders to ensure system capacity and capability.

·       Reduce health inequalities linked to and amplified by Covid-19.

 

It was critical to remember that every individual had their part to play to keep themselves and other people safe.  Wolverhampton residents had a higher smoking rate, higher long-term illness, higher levels of people overweight, higher under-75 all-cause mortality rate, higher diabetes and a higher proportion of BAME than the national average.  There were two main methods available currently to reduce the spread of Covid-19, lockdown and testing with communication.  They had worked with the CCG and RWT to identify the most vulnerable people within Wolverhampton and help them stay at home during the pandemic.  They had predicted a higher mortality rate in Wolverhampton, this had probably not occurred because of the collective action that had been taken within the community.

 

The Director for Public Health stated that there were seven themes to the Wolverhampton Outbreak Control Plan.  These had been identified by the Local Government Association and the Department for Health and Social Care.  He thought it was a good approach.  The seven themes were listed as follows: -

 

·       Theme 1 – Care Homes and Education Settings

·       Theme 2 – High Risk Workplaces, Locations and Communities

·       Theme 3 - Mobile Testing Units and Local Testing Approaches

·       Theme 4 – Contact Tracing in Complex Settings

·       Theme 5 – Data Integration

·       Theme 6 – Vulnerable People

·       Theme 7 – Local Governance

 

None of the themes operated in isolation, they all interconnected with each other and would continue to evolve over time.  He presented a slide on the Governance system and on how the plan would be communicated.  The Public Health Team in Wolverhampton in conjunction with Public Health England would lead on the communications in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak within the City.  It was also important to have effective communication during a low and stable rate of Covid-19 cases in order to avoid a local lockdown.  He identified the next steps as follows: -

 

·       Continue building on what they had been doing with an emphasis on partnership working.

·       Ensure everyone knows how to play their part to keep themselves and each other safe.

·       Maximise the local response for local people.

·       Affect the things we can do and do them well (citing previous examples of working in partnership with health partners, setting up a drive through testing site, establishing a community swabbing team, testing all Social Care staff working in Care Homes and residents).

 

A Member of the Panel asked about asymptomatic testing of Covid-19 within the City, particularly in key areas, given national reports of 50-80% of people not showing any symptoms.  The Director of Public Health responded that it was not currently Government policy to have widespread asymptomatic testing in the UK population.  He thought targeted testing within the City in potential problem areas was key.  They were developing a number of pilots in certain areas or settings, to gain assurance.  These pilots would be going live within the next two weeks.  The Director of Adult Services commented that they had identified a Covid-19 outbreak within a Care Home in Wolverhampton through asymptomatic testing, where none of the residents had been showing symptoms.   Within care settings, asymptomatic testing was particularly worthwhile.

 

A Member of the Panel asked about whether homeless people were still in the hotel rooms that they had been allocated temporarily during the pandemic.  The Director of Public Health responded that many of them had been supported into new accommodation or into a treatment or support pathway. 

 

 

Supporting documents: