Agenda and minutes

To be notified of the appointment of Substitute Members.

There were no substitute members.

You are invited to declare any registerable and/or non registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

You are also invited to disclose any dispensation in relation to any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted to you in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

Please complete the Declarations of Interests card available at the meeting and return it to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest or dispensations.

To Confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2019.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2019 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

To receive an update report on the Better Care Fund.

The Sub-committee considered a presentation which provided an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF).

It was noted that the BCF plan for 2019-20 was approved by the Health and Wellbeing Board on 12 September and by Cabinet on 14 October 2019.  It is expected that the BCF will continue in 2020-21.

The Sub-committee noted some planned developments in services for older people which will lead to reconfiguration of some services included in the BCF.  These included:

•           single point of access

•           integrated community frailty team

•           integrated care community beds and reablement;

•           integration with primary care networks and community services.

The Sub-committee considered information on progress against the BCF metrics.  It was noted that emergency hospital admissions have continued to rise, and action is being taken to limit the growth.  It was noted that delayed transfers were well below the target level and also well below the average level for England.

It was noted that the level of permanent admission to residential care is on a reducing trend with the target being to achieve the North East average. 

One Member raised an issue about up to date information being made available to families who are seeking care homes and the need to ensure this information is reviewed regularly and kept up to date.  It was noted that the Council’s website provides direct links to the websites of individual care homes, so there is a reliance on the care homes ensure their information is updated and correct. 

Members asked if performance information is available in relation to hospital re-admissions following reablement.  It was noted that re-admissions within 30 days are measured but there isn’t a target linked to this.  Officers agreed to include information on re-admissions in the next update report.

Members highlighted a concern in relation to emergency admissions in ensuring there aren’t detrimental outcomes for those who aren’t admitted.  It was noted that this would be difficult to measure, but in general the concerns in relation to emergency care are about over-use of the service rather than under-use.

There was some discussion about planning for hospital discharges and it was noted that discharge planning would start straight away on admission. 

The Chair thanked the officer for this report.

The Sub-committee agreed to make a recommendation to officers that they review the information made available by the Council in relation to care homes, and to consider if there is more that can be done to ensure it is as up to date as possible.

To receive an update on the development of community hubs around well-being services.

The Sub-committee received a verbal update on progress in developing well-being services.

It was noted that the priority has been on developing the Wallsend Customer Service Centre in the first instance, before looking at progressing other centres.

It was noted that a number of services were already located within the Wallsend Customer Service Centre, and work was underway to locate a drug and alcohol service on the second floor of the building.  This is being funded via a grant from public health and will allow a currently unused space to be converted for use.  In addition, there has been an expression of interest from the police service for space in the building, and a bid for funding has been submitted to support this.

It was noted that there was an aim to have a number of services located in the building by the end of the financial year.  Officers would be looking to get the right services to meet community need and will also be considering whether this can be replicated in other areas. 

Members highlighted that it was important that priority was given to community need and accessibility to ensure that services aren’t relocated from the community into a central hub where this is not in the best interests of the service users.  Officers confirmed that these considerations would be the starting point and that there was not an intention to relocate services if this would have a negative impact.

Members asked about progress in other areas.  It was noted that there was a presence in other centres across the borough, but this could be improved.  However, officers were focussed on getting Wallsend right first before looking at other areas.

Members asked if there were any targets for attracting external organisations into the building.  Officers confirmed that there were no targets and they would be looking at the best use of the building.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report.

To consider a presentation on development work in relation to Adult Social Care Strategic Needs.

The Sub-committee considered a presentation outlining work that is in development to understand the current and future demand on adult social care in North Tyneside.

The presentation highlighted an opportunity to change the narrative and see older people as assets, and to focus on extending healthy life expectancy.  The presentation also highlighted the complexity around understanding current and future demand within an ageing population.

It was noted that national research highlighted a range of issues impacting on demand, including:

•           The relative wealth/deprivation in the population;

•           Performance of intermediate care and the availability of therapists/nurses in the community;

•           How the needs of people with lower care needs are met;

•           Supported housing and extra care;

•           How providers deliver care;

•           Effectiveness of council front door/short term help

Members asked about the involvement of partners in this work.  It was noted that partners were not involved at the moment and the purpose of the work is to understand what, as a system, we need to purchase to meet future demand.

Members thanked officers for the informative presentation and for presenting the information in a different way.  Members looked forward to receiving further updates at future meetings.

Councillor Joe Kirwin to provide feedback to the Sub-committee on the recent workshop on Dementia Friendly Communities

Councillor Kirwin reported back on the recent workshop on Dementia Friendly Communities that he and Councillor Brady had recently attended.  It was noted that this had been initiated by the Health and Wellbeing Board and was looking at how the Dementia Friendly Communities initiative could be taken forward in the absence of funding to support it.  It was highlighted that a further workshop was planned for the new year which would involve a range of community organisations and leaders from across the borough and to which members will also be invited.  It was suggested that the British Legion should be invited to this event and it was noted that this should happen as they were signed up to VODA.

The Chair to provide an update on the last STP Joint Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 23 September 2019.

Cllr Clark provided feedback from the last meeting of the STP Joint Scrutiny Committee which had taken place on 23 September 2019.

It was noted that it was agreed to change the name of the Joint Committee to the Joint OSC Committee for the North East and North Cumbria ICS & North & Central ICPs to reflect the revised remit.

Cllr Clark indicated that the joint committee had been provided with a lot of information but that it was proving difficult to identify anything tangible scrutinise.

It was noted that the NE & Cumbria ICS had received formal approval from NHS England.  As a result, new funding had been approved for two specific areas:  workforce and population health.

There was some discussion about the size and complexity of the new arrangements and concerns were raised about how all 12 local authority areas will be properly represented and how the arrangements will be accountable to local areas.  Members raised concern about the impact on services and whether the result would be reduced and more centralised services that will be further away from communities.

It was noted that the next meeting is in November and the agenda and a copy of the papers will be shared with members.