Agenda item

The Select Committee will receive an update from Public Health on current issues.

Bruce Laurence, Director of Public Health addressed the Select Committee, a summary of his update is set out below.

Annual Health Protection report for B&NES, Glocs. Swindon and Wiltshire

This report covers:

• Infection prevention and control including Health Care Acquired infection
• Health emergency planning
• Drug and alcohol services
• Sexual health
• Immunisation
• Screening
• Protection from environmental hazards including poisons, radiation and biological agents.

He informed the Select Committee that this is a major report with a focus on immunisations and screening.

He said that they now vaccinate against 18 illnesses routinely (some only in high risk groups e.g. HepB and BCG for Tuberculosis). He added that there are also 12 screening programmes some covering multiple diseases.

All perform well by benchmarking standards but there is room for improvement almost everywhere and the services need constant vigilance and encouragement. None are compulsory in UK and so the public need to be fully engaged and informed. The idea of informed consent is important particularly in screening programmes where there may be a balance between benefits and harms.

As well as ensuring a good general level of performance we also focus on inequalities in uptake hence work on cervical screening uptake by practice and also work on bowel screening in people with learning disabilities.

Finally a lot of work is going into tackling antimicrobial resistance and to pull this together an antimicrobial stewardship group will be set up that will report to the health protection board.

Legionella in water at Paulton maternity unit

He explained that a routine sample taken from the water supply at this unit was positive for Legionella at a high level. He said that no patients were harmed, but as a precautionary measure the unit was closed to admissions and work was done to clean and significantly modify the water system. The water is now clear and unit has reopened.

He stated that a Paulton Hospital Water Quality Incident Management Group was set up immediately in response to this finding, chaired by Becky Reynolds and including NHS property services, RUH, BaNES CCG. Sirona, comms. teams, PHE, AWP and others.

He said that this was a good example of successful multi agency work and also demonstrated the role of the Council’s public health function in overseeing and ensuring prompt joint action.

Health Inequalities Inquiry Day: 11th May

He informed them that this event is being organised on behalf of the Health and Wellbeing Board. It will include presentations from local residents, front line professionals and an external speaker from an area that has managed high levels of inequality and deprivation imaginatively. There will also be workshop sessions looking at what different partners contribute to reducing inequalities now and how we could work together more effectively. 

Teenage conceptions

He said it was really pleasing to note that in the latest (2014) data, the rate of teenage conceptions in B&NES was 12.3 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15-17. This is a very low figure with less than 20 local authorities having a 2014 rate lower than B&NES. He stated that over the longer term it represents a 55% decrease in the rate of teenage conceptions in B&NES since 1998.

He added that despite this progress some teenagers do become parents, and they need to be well supported. This is done partly through the Family Nurse Partnership (which is funded by Public Health as part of the 0-5 services).

Sustainability and Transformation Plans

He said that this is an NHS led process designed to help put the NHS on a sustainable basis for the future. He stated that for the purposes of this work B&NES needs to make a plan as part of a footprint covering Wiltshire and Swindon too. He said that this process brings challenges, not least of which is that our “devolution footprint” and our patient flows to Bristol put us in a different geography. He added that Public Health will be supporting the CCG in identifying high priority areas for improving health and reducing inequalities and that this is likely to demonstrate a number of common factors across all three areas but also some distinct differences.

Councillor Tim Ball asked if advice was available in respect in some recently diagnosed cases of Scarlet Fever.

Bruce Laurence replied that Public Health had written a letter to all schools and GPs on this matter which he could forward to the Select Committee.

Councillor Lin Patterson asked how many 10-24 year olds were admitted to hospital as a result of self-harm in 2016.

Bruce Laurence replied that it was around 10 – 20 and that all were treated seriously.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked if the Universities were involved on discussions relating to this matter.

Bruce Laurence replied that they have had some discussions with them, but that currently their main link was with Bath College.

The Chair thanked him for his update on behalf of the Select Committee.