Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

ASCH1/19

Appointment of Substitute Members

To be notified of the appointment of Substitute Members.

Minutes:

Pursuant to the Council's Constitution, the appointment of the following substitute members was reported:

 

Cllr M Thirlaway for Cllr T Mulvenna

ASCH2/19

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

Cllr M Thirlaway declared an interest in relation to item 5 as an employee of Parkway Care which is in receipt of financial support from the Council.

ASCH3/19

Minutes pdf icon PDF 136 KB

To Confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 12 March 2020.

Minutes:

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2020 be confirmed and signed by the Chair. 

ASCH4/19

Covid 19 Update: Public Health and Adult Social Care

To receive a presentation.

Minutes:

The Sub-committee received a presentation which provided an update on Covid 19 in relation to Public Health and Adult Social Care.

 

The Sub-committee considered the latest figures in relation to the number of tests, rates of infection, hospital admissions and deaths for North Tyneside.  It was noted that the latest figures are showing a slow downward trend.  It was also noted that the north east had not seen the steep increase in cases after Christmas which had been seen in other areas, and the downward trend applied to all age groups.  It was noted that recent media reports had suggested that rates had been going up in North Tyneside, but although there had been some daily fluctuations upwards, the overall trend is downwards.  It was also noted that some wards had been identified as having the highest rates in the borough, but these rates were linked to specific outbreaks within the wards, and the actual numbers of cases involved were quite small. 

 

It was noted that the new variant had been seen in 82% of the 68% of tests that went to the labs for testing and this was a similar picture across the north east and the rest of the country.  However, this is a concern as this variant is more transmissible.  There have been no instances of the South African variant in the borough as yet.

 

It was noted that the two hospital trusts are reporting a high level of activity, but they are both providing mutual aid to other areas.

 

Members noted the huge effort that has gone into both asymptomatic testing and testing for those with symptoms, including the new asymptomatic testing site in North Shields for those who leave home for work, and also a national system to provide tests for larger employers.

 

The Sub-committee were informed of developments to introduce a local contract tracing partnership.  This is allowing the authority to follow up cases that the national team have failed to contact within 24 hours.  The local tracing system will also be able to offer support to individuals to enable self-isolation.  This is part of a regional ambition to have a local contact tracing service.

 

Members raised a question about support to care homes where outbreaks are occurring and whether support is available to ensure that safety standards are adhered to.  It was noted that the authority scrutinised outbreak data on a daily basis and are working closely with all homes where an outbreak is identified.  There is an option to send infection control nurses to assist where necessary.

 

There was some discussion about staffing problems in care homes.  It was noted that there have been circumstances in some homes where staffing has been an issue due to staff sickness or requirements to self isolate.  Overall support has been able to be provided through the market to cover short periods of difficulty.

 

Members asked whether there was any testing available for those working in the community and voluntary sector who may be  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH4/19

ASCH5/19

Feedback from the Livi Evaluation Group

Cllr Richardson and Cllr Kirwin to provide feedback from recent meetings of the Livi Evaluation Group.

Minutes:

Cllr Richardson and Kirwin provided an update to the sub-committee on recent meetings they had attended as the sub-committee’s representative on the CCG’s Livi Evaluation Group.  This group was involved in the evaluation of the one-year pilot with Livi to provide additional virtual GP consultations within the borough.

 

It was noted that the evaluation meetings were not public meetings.  It was noted that Councillors had reservations about the Livi contract which had been discussed with the CCG at a recent informal meeting. 

 

Both Cllr Richardson and Kirwin highlighted some concerns that had been raised at the meetings, including concerns about:

 

·         Clinical implications of the project;

·         The use of the service by those with mental health issues;

·         The use of survey data collected by Livi as part of the evaluation, and the small sample size;

·         The small number of consultations being undertaken per week by Livi in the context of the whole number of GP consultations per week across the whole borough;

·         The impact on the GP workforce in the borough and how this is evaluated;

·         Promotion of the Livi service through merchandise and digital advertising;

·         Potential change to the pilot terms to allow GPs to refer into the service;

·         The changed context of GP services in the light of Covid and the greater use of virtual and telephone consultations across all GP practices, and the impact of this on the need for an additional service.

 

There was some discussion about the issues raised with a particular focus on the need for transparency and for clear and useful date to be available to ensure the pilot can be comprehensively evaluated, before a decision is made on whether to continue with the project once the pilot ends.

 

It was noted that Cllr Richardson would continue to attend meetings going forward and will reflect the views of the sub-committee at these meetings.