Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Ollie Steadman, Praful Nargund and Janet Burgess.

There were no declarations of substitute members.

There were no declarations of interest.

To note the minutes of the previous meeting of the Health and Care Scrutiny Committee, held on 15 April 2024 

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Health and Care Scrutiny Committee, held on 15 April 2024 to be noted.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Flora Williamson as the new Executive Member for Health and Care and thanked Councillor Nurullah Turan, the previous Executive Member, for his work and support to the Committee.

The Chair informed the Committee that from the 1^st of July 2024, Islington GP Federation would hold the new contract to manage Hanley Road Primary Care Centre and the GP Practice was previous managed by the Operose Health Group.

The Chair advised that any questions from the public should relate to items on the meeting agenda and that members of the public would be given the opportunity to ask their questions once councillors had spoken.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee to note the membership, terms of reference and dates of meetings of the Committee for the municipal year 2024-25.

Johnathan O’Sullivan, Director of Public Health, introduced the report that sets out the quarter 3, 2023-2024 progress against targets for those performance indicators that fell within the Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care outcome area.

The following was noted during the discussion of this agenda item:

• Vaccination for children remained as an important focus although there were challenges around increasing vaccination uptake.
• It was noted that there was an issue with the data available due to data quality and upload requirements of the national system. However, the Committee was advised this issue had now been resolved and Q4 report would provide the most updated data.
• The NHS Healthy Start was a national scheme which financially supported families on a low income to buy fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. It was advised that to qualify for the scheme, beneficiaries must be at least ten weeks pregnant, or have at least one child under the age of four. The Committee noted that extra funding had been received to ensure that all four-year-olds had access to the Health Start scheme.
• It was noted that smoking was the biggest cause to health inequality in the borough. However there had been an increase in referrals through stop smoking services delivered through community pharmacies and GP practices.
• In terms of NHS health checks, it was noted that this programme assessed the risk factors associated with non-communicable disease including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It was also noted that there had been in increase in undiagnosed hypertension post Covid.
• Regarding substance misuse, the Committee was advised that there had been an increase in the number of people starting treatment through Islington’s integrated drug and alcohol treatment service. It was also noted that the funding for the service had also increased as part of the national strategy. Quit rates remained steady as there had been success in supporting people in treatment for longer.
• Islington Public Health also commissioned a service called SWIM (Support When It Matters), which provided culturally competent, holistic support to men of Black African or Black Caribbean background, who were in contact with the criminal justice system and who had non-opiate substance use needs. It was noted that this group were over-represented in the criminal justice system, but under-represented in treatment, and this offer was important to help address inequality, as well as ensuring that those that required structured treatment were actively supported.
• The Committee queried about why rates of MMR vaccination uptake was lower in Islington compared to other London local authorities. In response, Officers advised that there had been a long-term decline in MMR and historically Islington had had higher number of MMR nationally and this had reduced overtime. Some of the reason discussed included concerns around the safety of the vaccination, people now questioning immunisations and fear of autism. It was also noted that in Islington, the earlier the vaccination is provided, the more the uptake.
• In response to a question regarding data around sexually transmitted infections, it was noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee provided good feedback on the report and highlighted that there should be a continuing focus in promoting GP federation in Islington.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee

      i.         To note the contents in the report.

     ii.         To agree the recommendations.

   iii.         To agree for this report to be submitted to the Executive.

The Committee discussed possible topics for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care scrutiny review for the municipal year of 2024/25.

The Committee considered three main topics which included a review of Adult Social Care accommodation, transitions between Children’s and Adults Social Care and Adult Social Care finances.

The following was noted during the discussion of this agenda item:

Accommodation in Adult Social Care:

• Reviewing Adult Social Care accommodation would enable to assess accommodation options that would support both the individual and the people that care for them.
• The review would also enable the committee to understand the changing demographics in Islington and the changing needs of the aging population.
• It was noted that the service supported young people with living disabilities and there was importance to ensure that they received support to help them live their best life independently.
• Adult Social Care budgets were under pressure and by supporting people to remain independent for longer would help reduce pressure in costs associated with providing are and support. Different technologies and innovations would need to be explored to reduce costs and to have better value for money.
• The review would also support in setting the vision for the next 10 years.
• The Committee queried about funding available for the Adult Social Care service as demand increases, Officer advised that there had been austerity in a number of local authorities over the last 20 years and government funding was not able to keep up with the increasing demand.

Adult Social Care finances:

• Reviewing Adult Social Care finances would enable the Committee to understand different avenues of funding, grant etc.
• There would be a clear understanding and transparency on the budget for the Adult Social Care service and could help manage overspend. 

The Committee requested to receive an update on adult social care finances each quarter and suggested the following one-off topics:

·       Transition: Update on transition from Adults Services.

• Mental health: Early intervention and access to talking therapies.

RESOLVED:

That the scrutiny topic for 2024/2025 would centre around Accommodation in Adult Social Care.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee to note the provisional Work Programme for the municipal year 2024-25.