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Agenda and minutes

Venue: F10, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX. View directions

Contact: Cliona May
020 8726 6000 x47279  Email: cliona.may@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

A1/19

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2019 as an accurate record.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2019 were agreed as an accurate record

A2/19

Disclosure of Interests

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

Minutes:

There were no disclosures at this meeting.

A3/19

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There was none.

A4/19

Public Questions

There are none.

Minutes:

Mr Michael Hembest asked the Board the following question:

 

“In the Health & Wellbeing Strategy document under priority 4 and 5, it mentions the role of employers to improve workforces’ health. Isn’t this just wishful thinking? The days of major size employers in the borough are nearly over. Outside of the few major employers the small employers, who I think are now the majority, have scant time or resources to influence their employees other than to get them to do the job.

 

It’s not impossible to get influence via this channel but the opportunities are becoming fewer.”

 

The following written response was provided to Mr Hembest:

 

Thank you for raising this important issue.

 

We acknowledge that it can be difficult for small organisations to invest in supporting workplace health. However, there are a number of examples of good practice where small businesses are taking steps to improve the health of their workforce. In fact we are hearing more of our small businesses citing the economic business case of supporting the health & wellbeing of their staff. It is becoming more prevalent as small businesses work to retain their existing staff.

 

There are also a range of free tools and resources which are often tailored to different size businesses. For example, one key programme is the London Healthy Workplace Award whereby any size organisation can work towards making their workplace ‘healthier, happier and more productive’ (https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/health/london-healthy-workplace-award). In recognition of the different challenges experienced by small businesses, there is now a tailored approach for organisations with less than 10 employees.

 

There are also free health resources available to employers for use in their organisations. Here is a link to one example.

https://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1361

 

 

Croydon also has the Good Employer Charter (www.goodemployercroydon.com)which businesses can sign up to, one component of which is workplace health. There are a number of small businesses that are part of this because they see the importance of being a good employer.  Small businesses signed up to this, are invited to a range of events throughout the year, collaborating and sharing best practice to support each other on ensuring the implementation of policies and activities that support the health and wellbeing of their staff.

 

We promote all of these opportunities to businesses via a number of routes including at the annual Economic Summit and through our business newsletter.

 

We have included workplace health in our Health and Wellbeing strategy in recognition of the importance of good employment for health.  The Health and Wellbeing Board will be working with the Council’s Future Place Board to explore opportunities for a strategic response to workplace health for all Croydon Businesses”

A5/19

Supporting the whole person through an integrated locality approach pdf icon PDF 268 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report which addressed and updated the Members on the developments of supporting the whole person through an integrated locality approach across the system in Croydon. The locality approaches would deliver the priorities of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, in particular priority eight: “The right people in the right place at the right time”.

 

The Director of Alliance Programme, Rachel Soni, introduced the report and explained that in Croydon the approach to health and wellbeing was rapidly evolving and an important part of that was to ensure that the different areas within the borough were provided with what was needed to maintain healthy and productive life. The aim was that when Croydon residents sought help they should be able to find the assistance they need locally with all services tailored to local needs.

 

The report presented included perspectives and updates on the locality approach for:

 

·       Council’s Operating Model

·       Health and Care Locality Development – Integrated Community Networks + (ICN+)

·       Locality approach for the Children and Young People agenda

·       Shift to strengths based approaches, such as Community Led Support

·       The locality approach and the voluntary and community sector experience

·       A Healthwatch Croydon perspective on what locality working means to the public

 

It was noted that three particular areas had been selected to pilot the localities work, and these were: Thornton Heath, New Addington and South Croydon. This selection was based on a number of factors including geographical spread, inequality and the existing or planned activity taking place in these areas.

 

The Croydon Voluntary Action representative, Steve Phaure, explained that the report was a council operating model and he suggested that further work engaging the community alongside the council would be beneficial, particularly focusing on preventative work. He added that there were a lot of assets in the borough which needed to be utilised.

 

The Healthwatch representative, Gordon Kay, did a presentation to the Board regarding the two successive two-hour public events held in Thornton Heath; these were to gain insight into how the new ICN+ model of services would be received by local residents. He highlighted that the following areas were focused on:

 

·       Understanding the model

·       Widening access

·       Communication

·       Building community ownership and representation

 

The Director of Public Health, Rachel Flowers, explained that the authority had services that could be provided to prevent residents relying on the NHS. The communication within the services needed to be developed but she noted that this was the first time in her career she has seen all areas starting to work together, which was positive.

 

The Chair noted that the Board needed to be conscious of how they could measure success following the introduction of the localities work.

 

Councillor Hopley noted that there was cross-party support of the localities work. She expressed concern for the communications around the work to the public as a lot of residents were unaware of the ongoing work and how they could get involved. She requested quantitative data from officers, including; how many residents  ...  view the full minutes text for item A5/19

A6/19

Annual Report of the Health & Wellbeing Board 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Public Health Consultant, Dr Jack Bedeman, introduced the Annual Report and explained that it would be presented to Full Council for approval on 15 July 2019. The report included the key work which had been completed in 2018/19, including: the Health & Wellbeing Strategy, including the set priorities and outcomes; the ongoing work with One Croydon; the collaborative work with the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP); and social prescribing.

 

In response to Councillor Hopley the Chair agreed that all Councillors should have a hard copy of the Health & Wellbeing Strategy and ensured they would all receive one by 15 July 2019, in time for Full Council.

 

The Croydon Voluntary Action representative noted that it was helpful when the head teachers attended the Health & Wellbeing Board on 27 February 2019 because it gave the opportunity for Members to hear that schools had limited resources and if there was any support which could be provided.

 

The Director of Public Health explained that the Health & Wellbeing Board may consider a joint working board with the Safer Croydon Partnership as this would ensure consistency across projects and plans.

 

The Healthwatch representative stated that there were a lot of work programmes and plans which made it difficult for a lay person to navigate; she suggested creating a working group of the Health & Wellbeing Board to go through an individual’s journey and ensure it is streamlined and documented.

 

RESOLVED – That the Board agreed to endorse the annual report of the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Board 2018/19 and recommend its presentation to Full Council for consideration and approval.

A7/19

Croydon’s Health and Care Transformation Plan pdf icon PDF 134 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report regarding the Croydon’s Health and Care Transformation Plan (HCP), which was a delivery plan for the Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The plan was about delivering an integrated system which was the primary reason for the creation of Health & Wellbeing Boards. The Plan had previously been presented and discussed at the Health & Wellbeing Board and consultation stage had now passed.

 

In response to Councillor Fitzsimons, who was observing the meeting, it was clarified that the Health and Care Transformation Plan had been presented to the Health & Social Care Scrutiny Sub-Committee.

 

In response to Councillor Fitzsimons’ concerns regarding the Health & Wellbeing Board’s Terms of Reference, Councillor Hall noted that revisions would need to be agreed by Full Council.

 

In response to the Healthwatch representative, the Director of the Alliance Programme explained that comments received from Board Members had been incorporated in the final plan.

 

RESOLVED – That the Board noted that the plan would be finalised and approved by the Executive Director of Health Wellbeing and Adults following conclusion of the Consultation and subject to the consultation outcomes.

 

A8/19

Measles and MMR vaccination in Croydon pdf icon PDF 229 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health introduced the report and explained there was currently a measles epidemic and 24 people had recently passed away in Europe. During the previous wave of measles, 30 residents in the borough had confirmed measles; therefore, it was important for the Health & Wellbeing Board to look at how these figures could be improved. It was noted that 67% of children within the borough had been vaccinated and she had sent letters to all the local schools, nurseries and primary care venues within the borough with all the relevant information.

 

The Director of Public Health urged everybody to check whether they had been vaccinated against MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) and to ask their friends and family. It was explained that if people were unsure, they were able to receive the vaccination in their GP surgery. She added that she would distribute useful information to all Health & Wellbeing Board Members.

 

The Board were also encouraged to receive the flu vaccination as there was a current outbreak in Australia, so this could become a problem in the United Kingdom in winter 2019. In response to the Chair, the Director of Public Health clarified that the flu vaccinations were needed every year.

 

In response to the Chair, it was clarified that schools were not legally allowed to prevent children from attending to school if they were not vaccinated. The Vice-Chair added that the DfE guidance did not stipulate that schools require children’s vaccination statuses.

 

In response to the Healthwatch representative, the Director of Public Health explained that there was a communication strategy being developed, which would focus on distributing information to the residents who were more at risk, these included; child care workers, frontline services, teachers, nurseries and children.

 

Councillor Hopley requested that a short, simple message was provided to Board Members and Councillors to distribute amongst their constituents. She also noted that this could be published on the website, in relevant articles, on social media and distributed to Resident Associations. The Vice-Chair added that there was a recent clip filmed in the Philippines on measles, which was shown on BBC News, which should be distributed to Board Members.

 

RESOLVED – That the Board agreed to:

 

1)    Note the content of the report.

 

2)    Encourage persons who arranged for the provision of any health or health-related services to agree to the Croydon Measles Elimination Plan and work closely together in an integrated manner to deliver the actions within it (Appendix B). This included the active support and promotion of MMR vaccinations amongst individuals of all ages including patients, staff and the general population.

A9/19

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

Minutes:

This was not required.