Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the co-chairs, who were unable to attend and presented their apologies, it was agreed that Cllr Alison Born would chair the meeting.  Cllr Born welcomed everyone to the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Democratic Services Officer read out the evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Dr Bryn Bird – CCG

Jayne Davis – Bath College

Corinne Edwards – CCG

Sara Gallagher – Bath Spa University

Andrew Girdher – CCG

Will Godfrey – B&NES Council

Steve Kendall – Avon and Somerset Police – substitute Jonathan Raisey

Anthony Payne – Bath University – substitute Chris Young

Nikki Rice – Avon Fire and Rescue Service

Cllr Dine Romero – B&NES Council

Richard Smale – CCG

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting.

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no public questions or statements.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2021 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2021 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Board is asked to approve the Better Care Fund 2021-2022 Narrative Plan.

Gary Guest and Judith Westcott (30 mins)

The Board considered the Bath and North East Somerset Better Care Fund 2021-2022 Narrative Plan.  Judith Westcott (Senior Commissioning Manager) and Gary Guest (Commissioning Project Manager) presented the report highlighting the following issues:

·  Narrative Plan requirements and overview

·  Scheme monitoring and governance

·  Approach to integration

·  National conditions

·  Covid-19 recovery

A draft version of the plan was submitted to the Better Care Fund (BCF) national team on the submission deadline date (16 November 2021) subject to formal approval by the Health and Wellbeing Board.  The plan is an updated and modernised version of the previous plan and sets out targets, winter planning and ongoing delivery of the business plan.  The Better Care Fund seeks closer working relationships with partners.  The key aim is to enable people to remain in their own homes for longer and to improve “patient flow” on discharge from hospital.  Next year there will be a total refresh of the plan.

There were also two new funding applications for consideration which have received backing from the Locality Commissioning Group. 

The following issues were discussed:

·  It is extremely important to ensure that people can leave hospital without delay and more resources are being put into domiciliary care to support this aim.  The RUH and the Council are committed to working together to help patients.

·  Staff shortages continue to be a challenge, and this is a national issue.  Work is being carried out locally to address this, but staffing remains a concern.

·  Finding suitable and affordable accommodation in Bath is a problem for staff and this requires a wider conversation across the Council.  There is a supply shortage of affordable housing and this has worsened due to some private landlords switching from providing residential accommodation to Airbnb.

·  Good links with mental health services are also important and staff who can work with this level of complexity are required.

RESOLVED:

(1)  To approve the Bath and North East Somerset Better Care Fund 2021-2022 Narrative Plan.

(2)  To approve the following funding applications requesting support from the Better Care Fund:

·  Trusted Assessor (Existing BCF Scheme) - £31,334.60

·  In House Home Care - £80,000 per annum for two years with a total commitment of £160,000 to cover two years of practice.

A copy of the presentation slides is attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes.

The B&NES Community Safety & Safeguarding Partnership (BCSSP) is introducing its Annual Report for 2020-2021, alongside its new priorities to be actioned in the Strategic Plan 2021-2024.  The Board is asked to note the report, to raise any queries and to recommend any additional areas for consideration.

Sian Walker-McAllister (20 mins)

The Board considered the Annual Report of the B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership 2020-21.  Sian Walker-McAllister, Independent Chair of the partnership, presented the report highlighting the following issues:

·  This is the first full year of reporting for the partnership since it was established in 2019.  Only three other areas in the country have a combined adult and child safeguarding and community safety strategy and structure.

·  It has been a very challenging year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on all partners. 

·  Statutory duties have been met and the strategic objectives of the partnership have been delivered.

·  One of the key benefits of this type of combined partnership is to improve the approach to safeguarding during the transition from child to adult services.  This provides a pro-active approach to supporting both children and adults.

The following issues were discussed:

·  The Chair thanked Sian for the huge amount of work that the partnership has carried out.

·  It was noted that there are still concerns regarding resourcing levels and that the partnership takes strategic ownership about what action it can take. 

·  The partnership aims to make processes simple and to avoid duplication of work.  It is important to avoid silo working and to work more effectively in partnership.  However, more resources are required to support the Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership in the future.

·  Healthwatch noted the resource issues and will take this back to their organisation for further discussion.  The transition from child to adult services has been discussed at recent workshops and there is a need for more mental health practitioners.

RESOLVED: To note the 2020-2021 Annual Report and Executive Summary for the Bath and North East Somerset Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership.

To consider a report giving information about the forthcoming refresh of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.

Joe Prince/Paul Scott (20 mins)

The Board considered a report regarding the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) refresh which will take place in October 2022.

Paul Scott (Public Health Consultant) and Joe Prince (Insight Manager) presented the report and highlighted the following issues:

·  The proposed PNA will be the second revised assessment of local pharmaceutical services since the Health and Social Care Act 2012 amendment.  The current assessment was published in 2018.

·  Planning has started on the production of the PNA to be published by 1 October 2022.

·  Three pharmacies have closed in the B&NES area and need will be assessed based on recent guidance and data from NHS England.

·  The timetable for key milestones was outlined.

The following issues were then discussed:

·  The PNA document focusses mainly on structure, looking at the number of pharmacists per head of population.  It considers the estate rather than process and looks at gaps in provision.  It was acknowledged that it is important to ensure the correct capacity is available.

·  A consultation will take place over the summer (during June and July 2022) and feedback will then be considered.

·  Healthwatch could assist with the public consultation process.

RESOLVED:  To note the proposals for the revision of a full Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment by 1 October 2022.

To note that the next meeting will take place on either Tuesday 25 January or 29 March 2022.

It was noted that the next meeting is currently scheduled for either Tuesday 25 January or 29 March 2022 depending on items to be discussed.