Issue - meetings

20 minutes

Board to endorse the priorities for the Health Protection Board in 2025/26.

Anna Brett/Amy McCullough.

Becky Reynolds, Director of Public Health and Prevention (B&NES) and Anna Brett, Health Protection & Core Determinants of Health Manager (B&NES) presented the Health Protection Board Annual Report 2024-25 and posed the following questions to the Board:

1. Is the Health & Wellbeing Board assured that the Health Protection Board has delivered on the priorities from last year?
2. Does the Health & Wellbeing Board support the priorities that have been recommended for next year and are there further opportunities to join up with partners to achieve them?

The Board raised the following comments/questions:

1.  The Board was assured that the Health Protection Board had delivered on the priorities from last year but asked for further information about the one amber rated priority “Help improve immunisation uptake and reduce inequalities in uptake, particularly MMR vaccination. Contribute to the development of a new Integrated Vaccine Strategy for BSW and outreach vaccination model for B&NES” Response: some progress had been made in relation to MMR vaccination uptake and take up was good across the district but there were some pockets of lower take up in the Kingsmead and Lansdown wards.  The team was working with GP practices in these areas and also with pre-school settings to promote vaccines.

2.  In terms of achieving the priorities, there was a focus on external threats but what about the internal threat of behaviour shift to a partnership approach to health?  Was there enough in relation to the population taking ownership of their own health?  Response: this was a good challenge and would be taken back to the Health Protection Board.

3.  There were elements of co-design such as student/university involvement in the work around information and advice relating to damp and mould.

4.  An action was agreed that Board members would link up with Health Protection Board members within their organisations to see if there could be any further improvements in the links between the two boards.

The Board RESOLVED to note the annual report and endorse the following priorities agreed by the Health Protection Board for 2025-26:

1.  Assurance: continue to monitor the performance of specialist areas, identify risks, ensure mitigation is in place and escalate as necessary

2.  Continue to actively participate in the prevention, preparedness and management of outbreaks and incidents with partner agencies to slow down and prevent the spread of communicable disease and manage environmental hazards

3.  Continue to ensure that the public and partner organisations are informed about emerging threats to health

4.  Contribute to regional planning on the delegation of vaccination responsibilities from NHS England to the ICB, and to local vaccination planning, to support vaccination and inequality outcomes.

5.  Implement actions to support prevention of climate change and mitigation of climate change impact

6.  Improve uptake of NHS screening programmes with a focus on breast and cervical screening programmes.

7.  Support the delivery of the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon & Wiltshire Integrated Care System Infection Prevention and Management Strategy 2024-2027, to ensure that the local interventions and workplans  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38