Councillor Harvey welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Scrutiny Officer confirmed that apologies had been received from Melanie Thwaites, Fiona Myers, Vivienne Robbins, John Morley and Dawn Godfrey.

To confirm the record of the meeting of the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board held on the 11^th January 2022 and of the special meeting held on the 22^nd February 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board held on the 11^th January 2022 and the special meeting held on the 22^nd February 2022 were both approved as an accurate record.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from Members of the Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 93.

The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes.  Petitions, declarations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received.  Questions may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the Committee Administrator 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes.  Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice.  Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

The Scrutiny Officer confirmed that a total of three questions had been received.  One question with notice from Mr Jennings and two questions with short notice from Mr Nebel and Mr Touchin respectively.  However, neither Mr Nebel or his representative were able to attend the meeting so, as per Procedure Rule 93, his question would be replied to in writing and published with the minutes.

She reminded all attendees that every question should be put and answered without discussion and that no discussion was permitted nor a resolution moved with reference to any question or reply to a question.  She also confirmed that, as per Procedure Rule 93, the total time allowed for a question submitted with notice including the response was 5 minutes and that Mr Jennings could ask 1 supplementary question for the purpose of clarifying the response. 

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Mr Jennings joined the meeting at 2.08 p.m.

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Mr Jennings addressed the Committee with his question regarding Rutland Memorial Hospital.

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Mr Jennings left the meeting and Mr Touchin joined the meeting at 2.14 p.m.

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Mr Touchin addressed the Committee with his question regarding the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

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Mr Touchin left the meeting at 2.18 p.m.

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Councillor Harvey confirmed that Rutland County Council continued to work in close collaboration with stakeholders, such as Rutland Healthwatch as part of the Integrated Delivery Board and the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board, to ensure that the voice of residents was heard in such matters as community healthcare and integrated services.

To consider any questions from Members received under Procedure Rule 95.

There were no questions received from members.

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted under Procedure Rule 97.

There were no notices of motion received from members.

To receive the final report from the Primary Care Task and Finish Group, presented by Councillor P Ainsley, Chair of the Primary Care Task and Finish Group.

Councillor Ainsley joined the meeting as Chair of the Primary Care Task and Finish Group to brief the Board on the final report from the Group.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The report noted the significant number of people who had responded to the survey (nearly 1,000); the overview of feedback across the practices; and the recommendations set out.

·       The proposed recommendations had been amended slightly following presentation of the report to the Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee.

·       In section 8.1.e, the references to Public Health and RCC would be omitted and an additional recommendation would be added stating ‘That the Rutland PPG’s contact Lakeside Healthcare Stamford PPG to share good practice for the best interests of Rutland residents.’

·       The final report would be presented to Council for approval on the 11^th April 2022 and it would be distributed to the medical practices, the PCN and the LLR CCGs.  The Task and Finish Group would then be disbanded.

·       The report had been produced in a very short space of time with the whole process only taking 72 days from beginning to end.

·       The Deputy Director Integration & Transformation confirmed that the recommendations would be integrated into the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy’s Delivery Plan, whilst working with the Primary Care Network, the Integrated Care Board and other partners, to ensure follow-up and to enable the Health and Wellbeing Board to track progress.

·       LLR CCGs’ working group would take forward the recommendations and build them into the Place Led Delivery Plan whilst the Primary Care Network would take onboard the recommendations about the sharing of good practice.

·       Councillor Ainsley personally thanked Rachna Vyas, Dr Hilary Fox, Dr Janet Underwood, John Morley and Councillor Harvey as well as other members and officers for their hard work and support in producing the final report.

·       Scrutiny Committee thanked members of the Group for all their hard work in doing an outstanding job in producing the report.

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    AGREED that the responsibility to follow-up on the report’s recommendations be transferred to the Health and Wellbeing Board once the Primary Care Task and Finish Group had been disbanded.

b)    AGREED that a follow-up survey (driven by the Health and Wellbeing Board) would be undertaken by January 2023, recognising the importance of these services to the public.

c)    AGREED that the Health and Wellbeing Board would work with partners to present a short report at the HWB meeting in July 2022, to update residents on the outcomes of the recommendations from the Primary Care Task and Finish Group.

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Councillor Ainsley left the meeting at 2.42 p.m.

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To receive Report No. 64/2022 from Councillor S Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care

Report No. 64/2022 was received from Councillor S Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care and presented by Sandra Taylor, Health and Wellbeing Integration Lead.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The Health and Wellbeing Integration Lead presented 4 slides to attendees (copy attached) which detailed some changes to the wording for the Foreword, the Introduction, Section 1.2 and Priority 4 in the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

·       Elective Hubs would be created nationally alongside the community diagnostic centres as a way of solving the current waiting list crisis.  

NHS England » NHS publishes electives recovery plan to boost capacity and give power to patients

·       A draft strategy for communication and engagement across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) had been produced by the LLR Integrated Care Board (engagement open until 24 April: https://www.leicestercityccg.nhs.uk/get-involved/the-nhs-in-leicester-leicestershire-and-rutland-how-we-will-work-with-people-and-communities/). A local communications and engagement plan for Rutland was also in preparation to support the JHWS. This would include relevant communications-related recommendations from the Primary Care Task and Finish Group and would complement the JHWS Delivery Plan.

·       The JHWS Delivery Plan was being further developed whilst working with involved stakeholders. In the meantime, delivery of some items from the Delivery Plan e.g. Inequalities Research had already been started.

·       First-year actions would be discussed at the next Health and Wellbeing Board meeting in July 2022.

·       There would be two substantive sub-groups reporting to the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board - the Integrated Delivery Group (IDG) and the Children and Young People’s Partnership (CYPP).

·       Work around complex care and prevention might require the creation of a separate sub-group but this would be confirmed at a later date.

·       The Chair requested that, by the next Health and Wellbeing Board meeting in July 2022, the Place Led Delivery Plan was updated for the first year and that the sub-groups had identified their work-streams and taken ownership of them.

ACTION: Debra Mitchell and Sandra Taylor

·       It was confirmed that the JHWS: Place Led Delivery Plan would be a standing item on future meeting agendas.

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    NOTED the outcomes of the 22 February 2022 special meeting relating to the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the legal requirement for formal HWB decisions to be taken at in person meetings.

b)    APPROVED the Rutland Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy: A Plan for Place 2022-27; APPROVED the amendments for inclusion in the plan and ENDORSED the production of a public-facing strategy document for publication in paper and electronic format.

c)    NOTED the initial Delivery Plan and AUTHORISED the Directors for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Children and Families, in consultation with the Cabinet Member with Portfolio for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care to oversee work to further refine the delivery plan leading up to the Strategy launch in July 2022, working with local stakeholders.

d)    SUPPORTED further development of Health and Wellbeing Board subgroup governance (including the Integrated Delivery Group (IDG) and Children and Young People’s Partnership (CYPP) to strengthen delivery of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To receive Report No. 65/2022 from Councillor S Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care

Report No. 65/2022 from Councillor S Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care was presented by Sandra Taylor, Health and Integration Lead.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The Terms of Reference had not been reviewed since 2016 and many people/groups had changed.

·       Conversations regarding membership were still ongoing with the LPT but a representative had been confirmed for active and veteran Armed Forces.

·       Debra Mitchell confirmed that she would be replacing Fay Bayliss as a member of this Board.

·       Dr James Burden confirmed that he would be replacing Dr Hilary Fox as a member of this Board.

·       It was agreed to review the membership following the meeting in July 2022 to agree if any additional or co-opted members would be required at the Board i.e. EMAS, cross-border Local Authorities, Fire Service etc.

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    NOTED the context for renewal of the Terms of Reference of the HWB.

b)    REVIEWED and ENDORSED the Terms of Reference attached at Appendix A of this report for recommendation to be adopted by full Council.

c)    AGREED with the recommendation, aligned to the Council’s Constitution, that HWB meetings would be held virtually unless the Board was required to take a formal decision, when an in-person meeting would be required.

To consider the current Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board Annual Work Plan, or to request further information.

The Forward Plan is available on the website using the following link:

https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/mgListPlans.aspx?RPId=133&RD=0

·       The Chair of Healthwatch Rutland requested that ‘Dentistry in Rutland’ be added to the annual work plan.

·       The Scrutiny Officer reported that the Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee and the Children and Young People Scrutiny had both requested performance data regarding dentistry in Rutland and that both Chairs had agreed to hold another Joint Scrutiny Committee once the data had been received from the NHS.

·       Councillor S Harvey confirmed that the responsibility for dentistry services in Rutland would transfer to the Integrated Care Service in July 2022 and suggested that the matter would be better discussed at the Integrated Care Board as it was an LLR issue and not just a Rutland issue.

·       Councillor S Harvey informed attendees that she would email further information regarding dentistry in Rutland to Board members.

How to find an NHS dentist - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Your views on NHS Dental Services | Healthwatch Rutland

Councillor S Harvey, Chair of the Board provided the following position statement:

‘We are welcoming Dr James Burden for the first time today, representing the Rutland Primary Care Network. As many of you will be aware, Dr Hilary Fox has just retired (for the second time, in fact!). She has for many years been an active member of the Health and Wellbeing Board and a key partner working with us all, both in Rutland and across LLR, to enhance health and care services. I would like to take a moment to thank her for her tireless service to Rutland. We have benefitted greatly from her expertise, creativity, dedication and clear-sightedness, and I am sure you will join me in wishing her every happiness in her well-earned retirement.

As we pass the two-year anniversary of the start of the Covid pandemic, and three months on from my first Chair’s statement, we are in a markedly different position - locally, nationally and internationally.

We have entered a new phase in the management of Covid-19, one of learning to live with the disease, relying on the levels of immunity gained through vaccination or recovery from Covid-19, and the transition to less virulent strains.  Covid is very much still present in our communities, with rates still rising. The Rutland rate was 880 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 26 March, compared with an England average of 909. While unpleasant, however, it is not usually leading to the serious consequences we were seeing previously.

Restrictions in England are progressively being replaced with guidance relying on individual judgement – vaccination, fresh air, face covering in crowds, hand washing, testing if symptomatic and staying at home if positive.

·       Since 1 April, the Government has stopped providing free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic public testing in England, moving instead to a private market in tests, with a few exceptions, notably ongoing free symptomatic testing for a small number of ‘at risk’ groups and health and social care staff.

·       Most requirements for negative tests prior to visiting a care home were also removed from 1 April.

·       A second round of boosters is being rolled out for those who are more vulnerable – aged over 75, care home residents or with a weakened immune system.

If new concerning variants arise, we will of course adapt as required. Otherwise, the focus is on recovery.

March 23 was a National Day of Reflection to mark the losses experienced through Covid-19. In Rutland, we have lost 88 residents to Covid, and many have experienced the loss of others, of course, beyond our county borders.  Many people who have recovered from Covid are still feeling its effects in many forms, and still others have seen the pandemic impact on diverse aspects of their lives – including their mental health, livelihoods or education. Our sympathies go to everyone who has suffered.

Many played significant and selfless roles during the pandemic, and I would like to congratulate Ali Wainwright, Chair of the Rutland Foodbank, who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11a

The Board offered their sincerest condolences to Sgt Paul Kear and officers of the Leicestershire Police force on the sad news of the death of former Chief Constable Simon Cole.  He was a well-respected member of the police force within the communities of Rutland and would be greatly missed.

The new meeting dates for the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board will be confirmed at Annual Council on the 9^th May 2022

Future meeting dates would be confirmed at Annual Council on the 9^th May 2022.