Agenda item - Chair's Communications

The Chair of the Board will start the meeting with a short update on recent developments on health and wellbeing.

3.1       The Chair opened her communications by stating how delighted and honoured she was to have been appointed as Chair of the Board. There were many exciting opportunities ahead including:

             - There was an ambitious Health and Wellbeing strategy to be implemented; this would have a real impact on the health and happiness of residents throughout their lives;

             - Also, a new NHS Plan with a real focus on prevention and integration with the Board at the forefront of its implementation.

3.2       The Chair, wanted to stress the critical nature of the partnership with health colleagues, resident groups and other partners and how important it would be to work together to address the health challenges we had in the city. She welcomed new and existing members and gave them the opportunity to introduce themselves. At the last Board meeting it had been agreed to review the Board’s terms of reference and membership. In view of the work coming forward it was very important that membership of the Board reflected that and that it was focusing on the right issues. The Chair wished to reassure Board members that the next steps in commencing that work would be starting very soon and that members would be kept fully informed.

            Length of Chair’s Communications

3.3       The Chair went on to explain that a great deal of information was placed into Chair’s Communications. Whilst this information was welcome and it was important to keep people informed about what was going on, the amount of information seemed to be growing at each meeting. She wanted to see if it would be useful to reduce these at the meeting, but to send a summary newsletter following each Board meeting providing detail on items from both the Council and CCG. This would be trialled over the summer to enable Board members to provide their views and in the meantime she was seeking to reduce the content that was verbally updated at the meeting.

3.4       The Chair provided an update in respect of the following:

            Equalities Lead

3.5       Councillor Grimshaw had been appointed Lead Member for Equalities. This was very welcome as the equalities agenda was vital to ensure inclusion and representation of all groups with protected characteristics. In order to support her the Chair would be focusing on Mental Health and Councillor Appich would be providing a focus on Learning Difficulties and Disabilities. The most important message that they wanted to get across was that the council was inclusive and here to support the city’s most vulnerable residents and the providers who supported them and she was sure that health partners were in agreement with those aims.

            Carers Festival

3.6       A very successful carers festival had taken place. This had been well attended and the Chair had asked for a report on the event and its outcomes. An updated Carers Strategy which would build on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 4 Wells, was scheduled to come to the September meeting of the Board.

            Disability Pride

3.7       That years Disability Pride event had also taken place recently. However, notwithstanding that it had been well attended it was intended to engage the Board in supporting the event earlier next year in order to ensure that this event received the support it needed.

            What’s Out There

3.8       On 18 July more than 240 people had come along to the biggest free event in the city for people with learning disabilities or autism to see for themselves what was on offer in Brighton and Hove. This had been a great example of collaboration between the council, CCG, Amaze, Speak Out and the Carers Centre. Around 50 local organisations had showcased the advice/support they provided around health, housing, education, employment, money and more. There had also been activities to try out including dance, sketching, hula hooping and badminton.

            Pride

3.9       The Chair had been asked to provide information about how everyone could support the NHS during Pride. Brighton Pride was the biggest summer festival in the city that saw hundreds of thousands of local residents and visitors flocking too the streets to enjoy the celebrations. The local NHS was pleased to support Pride in the city. With so many visitors and locals out enjoying the festivities it was more important than usual the everyone had access to local health services, receiving the right care, in the right place at the right time. Alternatives to A&E for urgent care when it was not an emergency, included the NHS Wwww.nhs.uk and pharmacists could also help by offering treatment advice and recommending remedies.

3.10    The Local NHS was calling on everyone to support ensuring that Pride visitors accessed non-emergency care offered in the city, freeing up emergency services for those who needed them most over Pride weekend by using the materials in the toolkit a link to which would be provided in the minutes. Members support in spreading the messages of this campaign would be greatly appreciated and would help to ensure that the local NHS emergency department was free to treat those in most need first during Pride 2019.

            Strategy

3.11    The Health and Wellbeing Strategy covered a huge number of areas and impacted on a lot of the council’s business not all of which came to the Board, so the Chair highlighted a few items which had been considered sat other committees:

             - Safeguarding in the Night Time Economy had provided an update on the services that were available to help people in the city at night http\//phantom-brighton-hove.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?Id=5488&LLL=0

             - The Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan http://phantom.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?id=74060&LLL=0.Both of these supported the Living Well agenda. People were encouraged to have a look.

            Pharmacy

3.12    one of the key responsibilities of the Board was to oversee the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment of the city to ensure residents had access to pharmaceutical support. NHS England been informed that Boots in London Road was relocating to 5-8 London Road. This was only 100 metres across the road and would not have a detrimental impact in the community as the level of service and opening hours would not be changing. As there was no gap in provision created by this relocation, the HWBB did not need to make any representations to NHS England about the move.

            Suicide Prevention

3.13    Recently an update had been received in respect of the council’s suicide prevention strategy. Brighton and Hove had a higher than average suicide rate and the Chair was very pleased to announce that confirmation had recently been received that, following submission of a bid earlier in the year, the Sussex and East Surrey STP had been awarded £687,000 Suicide Prevention Transformation Funding by NHS England. Funding had been awarded initially for one year. This initiative would complement the local authority led local Suicide Prevention Strategy agreed by the Health and Wellbeing Board earlier in the year.

3.14    Additionally, the Chair was pleased to report NHS Brighton and Hove CCG and Brighton and Hove City Council had been awarded a five-year “Community Roots” contract to local housing, care and support provider, Southdown, to transform non-clinical mental health services across the City. The first of its kind in Sussex, the City wide contract which would start in October 200119 would bring together 15 separate organisations to strengthen, develop and integrate mental health support for different levels of need.

            Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

3.15    At Full Council on Thursday of that week it was hoped that the proposal to consolidate homelessness and rough sleeping issues into one committee, the Housing and New Homes Committee would be approved. This would improve consistency and clarity around decision making on this very important policy area. Therefore, papers and public engagement on these issues would be forwarded to that committee rather than come forward to the Board. The Chair wanted to assure everyone however, that committee papers would still have input the Health and Adult Social Care directorate and relevant lead members as necessary to ensure that the very best, evidence based decisions were arrived at.

3.16    RESOLVED - That the content of the Chair’s Communications be received and noted.

            Callover

3.17    The Chair stated that there were two late reports. She had taken the decision as Chair to accept them on this occasion. However, as reports were usually planned well in advance of each Board meeting there was generally little reason for delay and late reports might not be accepted in future.

3.18    The following items on the agenda were reserved for discussion:

             - Item 6: Adults with Multiple Long-Term Conditions – Joint Strategic Needs Assessment;

             - Item 7: Moving Forward Together in Partnership – Presentation;

             - Item 8: Brighton and Hove Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-30 Delivery Plan;

             - Item 9: Better Care Plan;

             - Transition to New Children’s Safeguarding Arrangements

3.19    The following item was not reserved for discussion and was therefore taken as received and the report recommendations agreed:

 - Item 11: Commissioning of Sexual Health Services.