Agenda and minutes

          The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2017 having been circulated were signed as a correct record.

The draft minutes of the Health and Wellbeing Board from its meeting on 4 October 2017 were presented to the Board for information.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes be noted.

The Board received a presentation from Richard Ashworth, Chair of Halton Older Peoples Empowerment Network (OPEN), and Clare Lightfoot, Forum Development Officer, on the work undertaken by the Forum in the Borough.

Members were advised that Halton OPEN was established in 2001 and had become the collective voice of people aged 50 plus who lived and worked in Halton.  Presently the membership was over 1,100 members.  Their aim was to influence and encourage the development of services which could help to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of all older people in Halton.  Halton OPEN worked with other agencies in the Borough including Halton Borough Council; Age UK Mid Mersey; Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Halton Partners in Prevention.

The presentation discussed the main issues affecting older people in Halton such as access to public transport; financial issues such as pensions, fuel bills and benefits; isolation/loneliness and health and wellbeing.

Members were advised that an annual telephone survey was carried out for the first time this year relating to isolation and loneliness and it was explained how this was conducted by the staff.  Examples of responses of those people contacted were provided to the Board.  It was reported that between 30% and 40% of respondents felt lonely and/or isolated.

Mr Ashworth advised the Board of the key successes for 2017 and how Halton OPEN was raising awareness of the forum in the Borough.   He ended by outlining the future plans for Halton OPEN which included the improvement of the flow of information via the website, newsletters and information booklets. 

Further to Members queries the following was noted:

·       The leaflets referred to would be made available to Members for distribution to their constituents;

·       Halton OPEN did not host social events as this was not its purpose and they did not have funding for this;

·       Halton OPEN did attend other people’s events when invited to do so, for example they recently attended an event at the Heath Business Park, to raise awareness of the organisation;

·       The forum encouraged older people to do things for themselves and provided them with information to be able to do so, such as who to contact and directing them to an organisation that can help them and so on.  However, if a member requested it they would accompany an individual to an appointment.

RESOLVED:  That the Board welcomes the presentation and notes the contents of the report.

Mr Tom Baker, Co-Optee to the Health Policy and Performance Board, declared a Disclosable Other Interest in the following item as he was a Board Member of the Halton Safeguarding Adults Board.

The Board received the Halton Safeguarding Adults Board (HSAB) Annual Report for 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, which was attached at Appendix A.  The report was presented by Audrey Williamson, Chair of the HSAB.

It was noted that the Annual Report fulfilled one of the Safeguarding Adults Board’s three core statutory duties which were to:

1.     Develop and publish a strategic plan setting out how they would meet their objectives and how their member and partner agencies would contribute;

2.     Publish an Annual Report detailing how effective their work had been; and

3.     Commission safeguarding adults reviews (SARs) for any cases which met the criteria for these.

It was reported that all members of HSAB, HSAB sub-group chairs and the Safeguarding Adults Partnership Forum members were invited to submit an annual summary of their work activity.  The focus of work activity addressed HSAB’s priorities as identified from the 2015-16 Annual Report, Performance Framework and Strategic Plan (2016-2018), in addition to acknowledging local and national safeguarding adults emerging issues / trends / policies throughout the year.

The report provided a summary analysis of the data gathered from both NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group and Halton Borough Council’s Safeguarding Adults Collection and highlighted what this information meant, for informing the work priorities for 2017-18.  The work priorities for 2017-18 were agreed as follows:

1.     Creating a safer place to live for all adults living in Halton (Safeguarding Prevention);

2.     Providing the skills and knowledge to enable genuine care and understanding for adults at risk of harm (Awareness Raising and Training); and

3.     Gaining a greater understanding of how mental health can impact adults at risk being protected and cared for in the best way possible (Mental Health).

Members raised concerns over the growing numbers of homeless people who may have mental health issues and substance abuse issues and how they would be represented by the HSAB.  In response it was agreed that this was a growing problem and would be highlighted to the Board.  The Board was advised that multi agency risk assessments were being carried out with regards to mental health services and the importance of partnership working was stressed.  It was noted that recognising problems at an early stage was important to prevent an illness from developing.  Members noted that Halton’s Citizen Advice Bureau had trained staff in suicide awareness.   

RESOLVED:  That the Board receives the Halton Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report for 2016-17.

The Board received a report from the Strategic Director, People, which informed them of the annual review of Halton Gypsy Travellers Allocations Policy 2017-18.  The Gypsy and Traveller Sites – Pitch Allocation Policy (July 2017) was appended to the report.

It was noted that the Policy was reviewed annually to ensure it was current and fully compliant with legislation and outlined the pitch allocation and illegal encampment procedure.

Information was provided in the report regarding the accommodation sites within Halton that were owned and managed by the Council and the private sites available.  Unauthorised encampments since January 2017 had totalled 16, which were mainly in Runcorn, and the report discussed the protocol devised jointly between the Council and the Police, to deal with these.

The report further discussed issues at a local level with regards to managing the sites and the work of the Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Officer (GTLO).

Members discussed the procedure for applying for a vacant pitch, once it was advertised by the Council.  One Member requested to know the total numbers of children on the sites; this information would be provided to the Board following the meeting as it was not readily available.  The Vice-Chair requested on behalf of the Board, that a visit of the traveller sites be made in the near future. 

RESOLVED:  That the Board noted the report and associated appendix and comments made with regards to this.

The Board received a report from the Strategic Director People, which presented an update on progress in implementing the Halton Suicide Prevention Strategy (2015-2020).  This was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

It was reported that suicide was a major public health issue and each suicide in Halton was an individual tragedy and a terrible loss to local families and communities.  The numbers of people who took their own life in Halton each year were low, however those ending their own life should be viewed as the tip of the iceberg, and locally levels of distress and suicide attempts would be much higher.  So although deaths by suicide in Halton were low, there was still a need for continuing vigilance and action around suicide prevention.

The report discussed the Strategy and its vision; areas for action; and outcomes and key achievements.   It also provided information on the Halton Suicide Prevention Partnership multi agency group.

Members discussed the data relating to suicides in Halton and it was commented that some incidents may go unreported as the data could only include those deaths given a suicide verdict by the Coroner. 

It was noted that the report and Strategy was based on data available in 2013; as the figures of suicide were low in Halton, it was necessary to do analysis’s every 3 years.

RESOLVED:  That the Board

1)    notes the report and Strategy; and

2)    supports the continued implementation of the Strategy, recommendations and actions.

The Board received a report from the Strategic Director, People, which provided details of the Telecare Charging Policy, Procedure and Practice 2017, which was appended to the report at Appendix 1.

Members were advised that Halton Telecare Service (formally Lifeline) has been established for over 27 years.  During this time, the services had grown from a static onsite warden service to a fully operational, assessment, installation and response service.  Telecare has the potential to benefit people who may need care and support by increasing their confidence and helping them to remain in their own homes.  The service was for anyone who felt at risk or vulnerable in their own homes and people chose to use the service for a variety of reasons as discussed in the report.

The report outlined the three service levels and the charges for these per week.  It also provided information of the review of the charging methods for Telecare and the development of the Telecare Charging Policy, which was carried out by a task and finish group formed in January 2017.  Appendix 2 contained information of the methods of payment and Appendix 3 gave the Telecare charges from April 2017.

Members welcomed the Policy, Procedure and Practice for Charging and agreed it presented a fairer system for the public.

RESOLVED:  That the Board note the contents of the report and associated appendices.

The Board received the Performance Management Reports for Quarter 2 of 2017/18.  The Health Policy and Performance Board played a key role in monitoring and scrutinising the performance of the Council in delivering outcomes against its key health priorities.

Members were advised that the report introduced, through the submission of a structured thematic performance report, the progress of key performance indicators, milestones and targets relating to health in quarter 2, which included a description of factors which were affecting the service.

The Board was requested to consider the progress and performance information and raise any questions or points for clarification and highlight any areas of interest or concern for reporting at future meetings of the Board.  Members received and noted the Performance Management reports for Quarter 2 of 2017/18.

RESOLVED:  That the Quarter 2 priority based reports be received.