Agenda and minutes

          The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2023 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

The Board received a report and presentation from the Director of Social Health and Community Inclusion, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, which provided an overview of the Mersey Care Life Rooms Social Model of Health and the activity across Halton.

          Life Rooms was launched in Walton in May 2016 and offered an open door community-based approach, supporting recovery, prevention and overall population health.  Over the last 6 years, the service had evolved and now comprised over 100 staff and provided a range of services across a number of locations and communities.  Life Rooms had achieved award successes at both regional and national level.

Mersey Care invested in a 12 month Pilot Programme in Halton and the project commenced on 23 September 2022.  To date, there had been 160 referrals which resulted in 159 new registrations; 116 people attended appointments and received 230 social prescriptions.  The service would focus predominantly on supporting Mersey Care service users accessing Recovery, Early Interventions & Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Services.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

          The Board received an update report from Healthwatch Halton on access to NHS dental services in Halton.  The report provided an update on the difficulties that residents of Halton had experienced in getting access to dental services.

          The report set out the enquiries that Healthwatch Halton had received  from residents and outlined what they would like to happen going forward to improve the services.

          In response to the report, Tom Knight, Head of Primary Care, NHS England – North West, delivered a presentation which addressed some of the concerns and provided an update on dental commissioning in Halton.

          RESOLVED:  That the report and presentation slides be noted.

The Board received an annual report from the Adults Principal Social Worker (APSW) which outlined how the role of social work supported the One Halton Based Partnership in order to meet its priorities and objectives.

The APSW was a statutory requirement under The Care Act 2014 and had a key role in representing and promoting the social work profession. 

Appendix A within the report provided some case studies and illustrated the nature of social work practice, that at an operational level, supported the One Halton Health and Wellbeing Strategy.   

          RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

          The Board considered a report from the Executive Director – Adults, which provided a brief overview of the Joint Working Agreement between Halton Borough Council (HBC) and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside (NHS-CM) which would take effect from 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 and would replace the existing agreement which was due to expire on 31 March 2023.

          The agreement provided the legal framework in which HBC and
NHS-CM worked together in order to achieve their strategic objectives of commissioning and providing cost effective, personalised, quality services to the people of Halton.  As part of the Agreement, HBC and NHS-CM entered into a Pooled Budget arrangement which would contain the expenditure to deliver care and support services for adults with complex needs. 

          By working together, HBC and NHS-CM would achieve and sustain good health and wellbeing for the people of Halton and provide a range of options to support people in their lives by jointly designing and delivering services around the needs of local people.

          The joint approach would also provide future opportunities and retain commitment to develop an integrated approach to service delivery and transformation to improve the health and wellbeing of Halton residents.

          RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

The Board received a presentation from the Director – Halton Place, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, which outlined the duty placed on the Integrated Care Boards and their partner Trusts to prepare a Joint Forward Plan by 30 June 2023.  The presentation also provided details of the approach to the development of the Joint Forward Plan and its draft strategic objectives and priorities.

The presentation outlined:

·       The key plans and how they fit together;

·       National Guidance – the Joint Forward Plan principles and the role of Health and Wellbeing Boards;

·       Health Care Partnership Interim Strategy – strategic objectives;

·       Determining the Health Care Partnership priorities; and

·       Next steps in developing the Joint Forward Plan. 

RESOLVED:  That the Board:

1)    note the draft Cheshire and Merseyside Joint Forward Plan strategic objectives and priorities; and

2)    delegate responsibility to the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board to provide a collective response to the Joint Forward Plan by 31 May 2023.