The Chair made an introductory speech, highlighting that this was the first public meeting of the health and Wellbeing Board to be held ‘virtually’ in accordance with the 2020 Regulations governing remote meetings.

Apologies for absence were received from J Cripps and C Panniker.

The following declarations of interest were made as indicated:

(a) Councillor Salter – Minute 33 (System Covid Response) – Non-pecuniary interest – husband is consultant surgeon at Southend Hospital; daughter is a consultant at Basildon Hospital; son-in-law is GP in the Borough; daughter and son-in-law were medical students at UCL.

(b) Councillor Harp – Minute 33 (System Covid Response) – non-pecuniary interest – wife is employee of SAVS) and future relative works for East of England Ambulance Trust;

(c) Dr Garcia-Lobero – Minute 33 (System Covid Response) – non-pecuniary interest – GP in the Borough.

Minutes attached

Resolved:-

That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 22^nd January 2020 be confirmed as a correct record and signed.

Report attached

Presenter: Chief Executive, SBC

The Board considered a report summarising Southend-on-Sea Council’s, Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Southend CCG response to the Covid-19 pandemic, covering:

Ø  The Covid-19 Incident Timeline;

Ø  Covid-19 Demand on Frontline Health Services;

Ø  Covid-19 Preparation and response relevant to Southend-on-Sea and South East Essex;

Ø  Care home support and education;

Ø  Community resilience;

Ø  Impact of Covid-19 on Southend-on-Sea;

Ø  Reset and Recovering focus.

The Board asked a number of questions which were responded to by the respective health and social care representatives.  The Board also made the following comments/observations:

Ø  This was an excellent report and everyone should be thanked who have played their part;

Ø  Wider than economic recovery – emotional and mental health wellbeing of residents, etc will be key to recovery;

Ø  Need to reflect the work of E-Put and the commissioned services around mental health;

Ø  Reference was made to analysis undertaken through Healthwatch which would be shared with the Board;

Ø  Communication across the whole system with residents, etc is vital.

Resolved:

1 That the report be noted and all those involved in responding to the pandemic be thanked for their hard work and dedication.

2. That a paper from E-PUT setting out their response, actions and implications on mental health to the Covid-19 pandemic be provided to the next meeting of the Board.

Slides attached

Presenter: Director of Public Health

The Board received a PowerPoint presentation from the Director of Public Health providing an overview of the whole system approach to strengthening community resilience in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Board asked a number of questions which were responded to by the Director of Public Health.  The Board also made the following comments/observations:

Ø  Essential to understand and recognise what the health and inequalities are in the Borough in order to take appropriate actions to address and reduce the gap;

Ø  There needs to be clear and consistent communication with residents and communities and high profile;

Ø  There are significant opportunities to build resilience, reduce health and inequalities and work differently across the system;

Ø  The key to building community resilience is preventing the virus from spreading otherwise there is significant risk of potential further outbreaks, particularly in winter and need to be stronger at preventing the virus; Test and Trace will be key;

Resolved:

That the PowerPoint presentation, be noted.

Report attached

Presenter: Director of Public Health

The Board considered a report from the Director of Public Health providing an update on the Local Outbreak Control Plan which is a key part of the national Test, Trace and Isolate (TTI) programme.

Resolved:

1. That a Southend Local Outbreak Control Plan be developed in partnership with Essex County Council and neighbouring authorities.

2. That a public-facing Outbreak Control Oversight Board be established, led by Council Members, as a sub-group of the Southend Health and Wellbeing Board, which will be advised by senior Council and Health officers, from which to communicate with the public.

3. That the responsibility for the production and implementation of the Local Outbreak Control Plan be delegated to the Local Health Protection Board sub-group, which will report into the Outbreak Control Oversight Board.

Slides attached

Presenter: Director of Public Health

The Board received a PowerPoint presentation from the Director of Public Health providing an overview of who social capital is more important now than ever in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Board made the following comments/observations:

Ø  Southend’s communities have overall behaved responsibly during the pandemic and need to build on the ‘good will’ of residents, etc;

Ø  Social isolation is a key issue – people are scared to leave homes, etc;

Ø  Need to be better prepared to minimise the trajedy caused by the pandemic and build on the opportunities, e.g. there are more volunteers than ever before the pandemic – how to build on this;

Ø  There are significant financial challenges;

Ø  Need to manage perceptions and use the intelligence to embed a whole system approach;

Ø  Identified digital inequality as a key challenge;

Resolved:

That the PowerPoint presentation, be noted.

Paper attached

Presenter: Associate Director, Specialist Learning Disability Health Commissioning

The Board considered a paper from the Associate Director (Specialist Learning Disability Health Commissioning) presenting the Learning Disabilities quarter 4 performance report 2019/20.

The Board noted that the annual performance report would be presented to the Board in September.

Resolved:

That the quarter 4 learning disabilities performance report 2019/20, be noted.

Report attached

Presenter: Executive Director (Children and Public Health)

The Board considered a report of the Executive Director (Children and Public Health) providing an update on progress and future plans to complete the Written Statement of Action (WSOA) as a result of the SEND area inspection in October 2018.  The report also sought views on future proposals, specifically around leadership, governance and strategic oversight and asks the Board how its role can meet the statutory requirements.

The Board asked a number of questions which were responded to by the Executive Director.

Resolved:

1. That the leadership and governance workstream be engaged to review and determine the appropriate level and role of the Board in the strategic oversight and governance of SEND on an ongoing basis as laid out in the SEN Code of Practice and good practice in local area leadership.

2. That it be recognised that the SEND area partners will need to undertake a range of actions in order to ensure that the required improvements in the local offer outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Southend-on-Sea are met at pace.

3. That regular updates be provided to future meetings of the Board in relation to progress against the five areas identified in the report as part of the overarching SEND governance arrangements.

Paper attached

Presenter: ABSS Chair

The Board received a research paper produced by the University of Essex, commissioned by A Better Start Southend, setting out the preliminary findings and evidence on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and ‘lockdown’ restrictions on families with babies and very young children in A Better Start Southend-on-Sea wards and how the ABSS services could respond effectively to improve the health and wellbeing being of very young children and their families during the pandemic and its aftermath.

The ABSS Chair advised that Covid-19 will alter the priorities of ABSS services and the ways in which they work with families and the research findings formed the first phase of the process.  Phase two will involve interviews with parents and leaders in key organisations.   

The Board made the following comments/observations:

Ø  The research findings contains a significant amount of insight and need to think how it could be applied to all age groups;

Ø  Emphasised the importance of working together collaboratively and facilitate Primary Care involvement and discussions with the University of Essex and ABSS;

Ø  Patients, residents, etc must be first and foremost to have a positive impact.

Resolved:

That the University of Essex preliminary research findings, be noted and that the final report combining the findings from phase one and two be presented to a future meeting of the Board.