Apologies were received from:

Chris Lee – Director of Environment and Regeneration

Khadiru Mahdi – Chief Executive Merton Voluntary Services Group

Melanie Monaghan – Community Enterprise Network

No declarations of Pecuniary Interest were made

The Minutes of the Meeting on 29 September 2015 were approved as a correct record

The Director of Children, Schools and Families presented the annual report of the Merton Safeguarding Children Board.  This annual report is a statutory requirement which provides a rigorous and transparent assessment of the performance and effectiveness of child safeguarding and promotion of welfare of children in the borough. Based on the evidence set out in this report, the MSCB judge the current safeguarding arrangements to be effective.

Board Members commented that they were happy with report and the work of the MSCB and asked about future priorities. The Director of CSF replied that the priorities would be those set out in the report and would include; a strategic multi agency response to the issue of neglect, supporting children and young people with special needs, ensuring children are safeguarded from radicalisation and violent extremism, implementing the review of the MSCB Governance, Structure and Board Business Processes, and to maintain strategic oversight of Child Sexual Exploitation.

RESOLVED

The Health and Wellbeing Board considered and commented on the MSCBs annual Report.

The Director of Community and Housing presented his report on the Adult Social Care Local Account 2013-15, which in future would be published every year.

Mariette Akkermans, Healthwatch, asked a question regarding the National Benchmarking Data contained in the report noting that some of the targets were low.  The Director of Community and Housing explained that there were no set targets and that Merton achieved better than average and were improving. This data was given to aid transparency by comparing to other authorities.

The Chair of the CCG asked about the role of the HWBB in relation to social care. The Director of Community and Housing acknowledged a role for the HWBB in looking at the impact of savings in social care and the potential for collective action. He predicted a different social care offer in future and the contribution of the voluntary sector in this was discussed.

RESOLVED

The Health and Wellbeing Committee noted the report on the Adult Social Care Local Account 2013-15.

The Director of Commissioning and Planning, Merton CCG, presented the report that outlined the CCGs plans and priorities for 2016/17.  The report was informed by the Health and Wellbeing Strategy,  best practice and by the South West London commissioning intentions, and been discussed with the public, patients and other stakeholders. 

The Board noted section in the report regarding the East Merton Model of Care and Mitcham Development, and asked about the completion date of the new medical centre.  Adam Doyle confirmed that the target completion date had always been and still was, Summer 2019.

Mariette Akkermans of Healthwatch asked the CCG if they were aware of the Healthwatch report on GP services in Merton. Dr Andrew Murray replied that he was very aware of this quality report and that the CCG were looking to improve  primary care in Merton.

Councillor Lewis-Lavender asked about future services being drop-in and ‘1stop shop’.  Dr Andrew Murray agreed that the CCG wanted to make the patient journey as smooth and easy as possible for the patient.

RESOLVED

The Committee noted the information in the report.

The Director of Commissioning and Planning, CCG Merton, advised the Board that the contracts for community health had been awarded in September 2015, with the contract for  Lot 1 being awarded to the Central London Community Health NHS Trust and Lot 2 to Connect Physical Health Limited. The process is now at the mobilisation stage and contracts will be signed in December 2015.

The Director of CSF thanked all her colleagues in Adult Social care, Public Health, the CCG and her own department for this comprehensive process, and said the new specification is of a higher calibre and will deliver more.

RESOLVED

The HWBB noted the progress made regarding the procurement of Community Health and plan

The Director of Commissioning and Planning, Merton CCG, presented the report that met the recent requirements of NHS England for progress on Transforming Care  to be reported to the HWBB.  The report provided a brief background and summary of the current position. The Board were told that a more detailed report, considering the wider requirements of the programme and what plans the local authority and CCG need to put in place to meet these, would be brought to a future HWBB meeting

RESOLVED

The HWBB noted the report.

Amy Potter, Consultant in Public Health, presented the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Summary for 2015, which set out key health headlines, changes and trends under each of the life course themes, key recommendations and signposts to future work.

The Board noted that a lot of work had been done by the Public Health team to put up to date JSNA information on-line. Amy presented a set of slides, showing a summary of JSNA 2015 information, these slides are attached to this minute.

Councillor Maxi Martin asked about how the JSNA addressed the needs of seldom heard groups and in particular the higher risk of diabetes in the east Asian community.  Amy Potter replied that the JSNA presents a health needs assessment that tries to understand what the need is and how different it looks in different communities.  Trained Health Champions work to help address the needs of different community groups. 

Councillor Maxi Martin also asked about the number of children and young people admitted to hospital with injuries and noted that the JSNA will highlight changes to these numbers.

Councillor Maxi Martin then asked about the increase in STDIs shown in the JSNA information.  The Director of Public Health explained that they will work with the new providers of community health services on sexual health and chlamydia screening.

The Chair of Merton CCG said that he was very pleased with this work. He commented that there are now 24 rather than 25 GP practices in Merton and this will be corrected. He suggested that future Health Impact Assessments come to the HWBB.

The Chief Officer of Merton CCG  noted that HWB strategy was built on the JSNA, and that the JSNA informs commissioning intentions and these links could be made more transparent

The Director of CSF talked about non-accidental injuries  and suggested that some issues do need to be explored. Although the number was small there could be underreporting. Neglect is a key issue  and accidental/non-accidental injuries are part of neglectful households, and an area where partners can work together.

Councillor Lewis-Lavender suggested that all Councillors should be a Health Champion and the Director of Public Health said that she would train  Councillor volunteers who came forward to be Health Champions.

RESOLVED

The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed the annual Merton Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Summary document 2015

The Director of Public Health presented her report - ‘The Time for Prevention is Now – Merton Annual Public Health Report 2015’ – which makes the case for prevention and celebrates the work of Public Health and its partners since 2013 to address health inequalities and embed prevention.  She then presented the information attached to her report to illustrate the importance of prevention and the work done by Public Health and its partners to embed prevention and reduce inequalities.

The Chair of the CCG commended the report and said that it was a wonderful legacy for the Director of Public Health on her retirement. He added that the approach of the report would  inform the CCG vision and strategy.

The Director of Community and Housing reinforced the importance of embedding prevention in everything we do and that Public Health is an issue for the whole Council. He commented on the excellent ward profiles. 

The Board discussed provision of  ESOL classes for residents and heard that this is being taken forward in the commissioning of adult learning. Councillor Maxi Martin asked how the Council would reach all residents who needed these classes.  The Director of Community and Housing said that there were a lot of ways this could be achieved and that contact and statistical knowledge could be used.

The Healthwatch representative asked the Board to note that the voluntary sector was a partner in prevention but that their work was threatened by cuts in funding.

RESOLVED

The HWBB noted Merton’s Annual Public Health Report – The Time for prevention is Now.

Dr Andrew Murray explained the CCG views on Crossrail 2; that they were in favour of Crossrail 2 but were disappointed that the original proposed stop at Tooting had been replaced by a proposed stop at Balham. The Tooting stop would have been very convenient for both Staff and patients at St George’s Hospital, and the CCG intended to make their support for a stop in Tooting known in their response to the Crossrail 2 consultation.  The HWBB supported this view, and the Director of Public Health agreed to feed this  back to the Future Merton team who were compiling the consultation response on behalf of Merton Council.

Agreed Dates:

26 January 2016 3pm-5pm

19 April 2016 1pm-3pm

Provisional  Dates subject to Council Approval all 3pm-5pm:

28 June 2016, 4 October 2016, 29 November 2016,

24 January 2017, 28 March 2017

The Board were asked to note the following Future Dates of HWBB meetings:

Confirmed dates:

26 January 2016 3pm-5pm

19 April 2016 1pm – 3pm

Provisional dates (all 3pm – 5pm) subject to Council Approval:

28 June 2016

4 October 2016

29 November 2016

24 January 2017

28 March 2017

Dates up to and including 28 June 2016 had already been agreed with CCG members. All dates after this were to be sent to the CCG for their approval.

The Chair then thanked Dr Kay Eilbert for all the enthusiasm and energy she had brought to her role as Director of Public Health at Merton Council. The Chair and the HWBB wished her all the best for her future and her retirement.