Agenda and minutes

Venue: Online - Virtual Meeting. View directions

Contact: Bathsheba Mall  Email: bathsheba.mall@lbhf.gov.uk

Link: Watch live on YouTube

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 280 KB

(a)   To approve as an accurate record and the Chair to sign the minutes of the meeting of the Health, Adult Social Care and Social Inclusion PAC held on:

 

·       4 November 2020

·       27 January 2021 (Joint Budget meeting with CEPAC)

 

(b)   To note the outstanding actions.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

The minutes of the previous meetings held on 4 November 2020 and 27 January 2021 were agreed as accurate records.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

None.

3.

Roll Call and Declaration of Interest

To confirm attendance, the Chair will perform a roll call. Members will also have the opportunity to declare any interests.

 

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

 

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

 

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

 

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Audit, Pensions and Standards Committee.

 

Minutes:

None.

4.

Appointment of co-optee

For the Committee to agree the co-option and appointment of Lucia Boddington as a member of the Committee.

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the committee agree the co-option of Lucia Boddington to the committee.

5.

Covid-19 Update - Covid Vaccine Uptake - Hammersmith & Fulham pdf icon PDF 122 KB

This item provides a verbal update from the Directors of Covid 19 and Public Health on Covid-19.  The update will also provide an analysis of data regarding the local vaccine uptake.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Dr Nicola Lang and Linda Jackson who provided a joint update on vaccine take up within the borough and current Covid-19 rates of infection which had increased to 44 new cases per 100,000 people (up from 29 per 100,000 previously). A new testing regime had been implemented in schools, but Dr Lang urged the need to remain vigilant and to comply with infection control measures.  A pilot contract tracing project had begun and since implementation on 23 March 2021, 70 people had been contacted.

 

Linda Jackson outlined the significant challenges in ensuring vaccine uptake. The Primary Care Networks (PCNs) had since December 2020 operationally supported three mass vaccination hubs.  A fourth site at the Novotel had commenced on 15 March 2021, a fantastic reflection of partnership working between the local authority and NHS colleagues. The importance of delivering the vaccine in line with the Joint Committee Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) eligibility criteria was emphasised and significant engagement work was being undertaken to address concerns about the vaccine within some community groups. The borough had the highest rate of care home vaccinations at 96.2% in NWL and was attributed to the work of Dr Lang, undertaken jointly with health partners.

 

Linda Jackson explored the reasons why an individual might decline vaccination which was not necessarily rooted in social media and misinformation as most were well informed. This was evident within the black Afro-Caribbean community. It was recognised that a broad spectrum of engagement was required to fully inform the council’s public health offer.  The council was facilitating a programme of small, tailored Q&A sessions with community and voluntary groups.  The informal conversation format of the events successfully offered participants a chance to articulate concerns and be listened to. This was empowering and encouraged greater confidence in the vaccine.

 

The borough and H&F CCG joint vaccination plan was a “live” and iterative document which set out how vaccination programme would continue to be managed, prioritised and delivered.  There had also been significant success in vaccinating people at home and those in care homes. People in receipt of direct payments had also been contacted together with staff employed through the scheme as personal assistants.

 

Councillor Richardson thanked officers for their presentation and commended the engagement activities which had been impressive. The borough had historically experienced significantly low levels of vaccine uptake prior to the pandemic and Councillor Richardson looked forward to receiving further updates as this work progressed. 

 

Councillor Lloyd-Harris welcomed the report and commended officers for the impressive work undertaken. Councillor Lloyd-Harris reported the positive feedback that she had received but asked if it would be possible to circulate up to date vaccination rates.  Views were sought as to the reasons for low uptake within the borough and how this could be improved.  Linda Jackson stated that one reason for the difference in rates was that other boroughs had begun vaccinating much earlier.  It was acknowledged that flu vaccination rates, for example, were historically low within the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Community Champions pdf icon PDF 227 KB

This report sets out the Council’s work with community champions and the depth of community experience to promote testing and vaccination, alongside their regular public health messaging.  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Richardson welcomed Dr Nicola Lang Joanne McCormick to present the item, supported by Jide Ogunro, Community Champions Project Manager, Old Oak Community & Children’s Centre. Community champions was a commissioned service and operated in the most deprived parts of the borough.  With the onset of Covid, the projects rapidly transferred activities online, undertaking welfare checks on vulnerable residents, delivering food and ensuring that public health messages were shared.

 

Jide Ogunro described his experience of migrating support services online.  Old Oak Community Centre was the only local community facility, a focal point in a very deprived area.  Fortnightly, virtual workshops had been held and a robust text messaging service established to maintain contact and share information. Community champion volunteers were trusted and deeply embedded within the communities they served.  Local clinicians had delivered small workshops on Covid and vaccination, emphasising the importance of the trusted, local voice.  This was a safe and open forum for people to explore concerns about Covid vaccination and had resulted in a gradual reduction in vaccine hesitancy. The project and its volunteers had worked hard to build trust within the communities and as a result was an organisation that had a positive reputation within the community.

 

On behalf of the committee Councillor Richardson thanked Jide and his colleagues for their dedicated and compassionate support of the community through the community champions service during this challenging time. 

 

Keith Mallinson welcomed the report and the approach adopted. He explained that he worked for the Shepherd’s Bush Family Project and was also a member of the local advice forum. However, there were many examples of silo working with numerous agencies involved but working separately.  He asked how this could be addressed and a seamless, holistic approach developed to avoid duplication. Jide Ogunro responded that the initial project targeted different wards and localities, each with a dedicated project manager with a local focus and remit reflecting the needs and priorities of the area.   The pandemic had led to much greater collaboration to avoid a duplication of activities, for example the workshops, which were accessible to all.

 

Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris also commended the work of the community champion projects and welcomed the report. She asked how the success of a project like Old Oak could be measured and evaluated. Jide Ogunro explained that the number of participants engaged in an activity were recorded. A database of approximately 3000 residents received regular communications about activities and special events.  Regular feedback was also used to shape future activities.

 

ACTION: That the Committee receives an update on all of the projects next year and the members are able to visit the projects, once it was safe to do so

 

Councillor Richardson asked if there were any plans to progress a mental health disability community champions project, or youth community champions, like the maternity champions project which had been so successful.  Joanne McCormick explained that they were currently reviewing the arrangements with the delivery of the community champions service, which had been evaluated just before  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

H&F Council's draft Equalities Plan for 2021-2025 pdf icon PDF 452 KB

This report alerts members to the recently launched draft Equalities Plan 2021-2025, currently open to public consultation for a 12-week period until the end of April. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Lisa Redfern presented the Council’s draft Equalities Plan for 2021-25, supported by Councillor Sue Fennimore and Kim Smith, and which was currently open to consultation for a 12 week period to the end of April. The plan will reframe and set a direction of travel for the borough on equalities for the next four years, placing at its heart diversity and inclusion. The vision was for the borough to become the most inclusive borough in the country where residents felt welcomed and valued. The pandemic had spotlighted inequalities now more than at any other time so it was hoped that the Equalities Plan was well embedded across the council and will provide a focus of inclusion activities.

 

Councillor Fennimore continued that it was more important than ever to include equalities within work of the council and welcomed comments from the committee to the consultation as their views would help shape plan. Kim Smith stated that it was a borough priority to tackle inequalities and promote inclusion, but it was most important was to understand how to support not convinced communities, regardless of the issue.  The time was right to challenge how things were done and she highlighted the fact that she was one of three minority ethnic chief executives out of 33 London local authorities. Kim Smith felt that it was important that she was a role model for behaviour around equalities and inclusion and cautioned the need to recognise the rich diversity of the borough’s workforce that represented a wide spectrum of racial groups and had much to contribute to the shaping and delivery of services.

 

Councillor Jonathan Caleb-Landy welcomed the report as thoughtful piece of work that was both powerful and well-conceived. Referencing marginalised groups with hidden disabilities (learning or mental health) he asked what the positive impact the Equalities Plan might be. Lisa Redfern highlighted the work of the resident’s Disabilities Commission and their reported recommendations which the Commission Implementation Group was working to implement.  The group was led by Councillor Patricia Quigley and reflected the borough’s ongoing commitment. It was important to look at the recommendations through the lens of the Equalities Plan. 

 

Councillor Richardson welcomed the report and speculated if it was possible to include data on disability employment included within the Equalities Plan, alongside the statistics on gender given that the borough also had a vision to be the most disability friendly employer.

 

Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris asked if the currently available information was enough to inform the work undertaken on the producing the Equalities Plan, given that the census information was not yet available.  Kim Smith explained that current service provision was shaped by data that was available stemming from previous census reports and other, going pieces of work.  Residents and staff were impatient for change and thought that the council was not doing enough to effect positive change. There was information to demonstrate accountability in service provision and for this to inform the objectives set out in the Equalities Plan which was work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 97 KB

The Committee is asked to consider its work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Co-optee Jim Grealy suggested that a standing item on the ICP be included in the work programme. Describing the impact of the NWL Collaborative and resultant reconfiguration on local governance and accountability it was important for probity and analysis by the committee to continue.

9.

Dates of Future Meetings

21 July 2021

10 November 2021

26 January 2022

 

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting was noted as 21 July 2021.

 

 

Translate this website