Issue - meetings

The Board received a report from the Director of Public Health, which gave a summary of the evidence provided as part of the scrutiny review of health inequalities in Halton.  This included the conclusions of the Scrutiny Group Members and their recommendations to the Board.

The full Scrutiny Review report, Health Inequalities – Findings and Recommendations, was appended to the report.  

It was noted that overall, the scrutiny review provided Members with the opportunity to gain an understanding of the definition of health inequalities and how these were measured, including Halton’s position regionally and nationally.  They also investigated the drivers of health inequalities and the outcomes of these.  Consideration was also given to good practice, pressures and emerging issues in Halton, including barriers and enablers to access specific provisions.

The Director’s report also proposed several options as potential areas for scrutiny for 2024, these were discussed.  The Board agreed that option one, A Focus on Community (non-GP) NHS Services would be the topic for 2024.  A topic brief would be developed and shared with the Board in due course.

The consensus of the Board was that they enjoyed being part of the Health Inequalities scrutiny review and found all meetings productive and interesting.  They considered this to be due to the work carried out by Officers, and wished to record their thanks to the Director of Public Health and all Officers who contributed, particularly to Emma Bragger.  The Chair reiterated this and thanked all Members of the Board involved, which led to the success of the review.

RESOLVED:  That the Board

1)    approve the Health Inequalities – Findings and Recommendations Scrutiny Review report; and

2)    agree that the scrutiny topic for 2024 will be A Focus on Community (non-GP) NHS Services.