Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R Claymore and M Greatorex and County Councillor T Jay.  Councillor D Maycock chaired the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2021 were approved as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor S Peaple and seconded by Councillor J Harper)

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair reported that there was a Long Covid Assessment Clinic which residents of Tamworth could access if they continued to struggle with symptoms post Covid which had not improved through self management. Please see the link to the NHS website below:

https://www.mpft.nhs.uk/service-users-carers/coronavirus-information/coronavirus-resources,

 Access to the Long Covid Assessment Clinic service was via referral from the GP. 

(To receive an update from the Assistant Director, Partnerships and representatives of the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust)

The Chair welcomed to the meeting Ms Jo Sands, Assistant Director Partnerships and Ms Susan Unwin, Consultant Nurse and Approved Clinician at the Midland Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT). The Chair reported that Upkar Jheeta, Head of Primary Care Development & MH Programme Lead (South Staffordshire) from MPFT was unable to attend this evenings meeting.  The Chair invited the Assistant Director Partnerships and the Consultant Nurse and Approved Clinician to provide a brief overview of the mental health services available in Tamworth.

The Assistant Director reported that The Tamworth Community Safety Partnership Plan 2022-23 identified vulnerable persons and contextual safeguarding (including drugs, alcohol and mental health) as a priority and aligned with the Council purpose to help tackle the causes of inequality and increase opportunities, help tackle causes and effects of poverty and financial hardship and help build resilient communities.

The Council continued to work with statutory and voluntary sector partners who were responsible for the delivery of services to support the vulnerable, especially as a result of the current pandemic.

The Assistant Director Partnerships reported that she was a member of the Southeast Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) Healthy Communities Partnership, initially formed to bring together key Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners with key NHS and local authority organisations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the partnership was to work to address health inequalities by working with residents through community asset based approaches (nurturing the strengths and resources of people and communities) in Southeast Staffordshire.

Tamworth was also represented by the Partnerships team on relevant Staffordshire County Council and Staffordshire Commissioners Office for Police Fire and Crime meetings working to address wider community safety and vulnerability concerns.

The Assistant Director reported that mental health had been highlighted as a national area of concern and that it was a focus of need in Tamworth and a priority across all partners.

The Consultant Nurse and Approved Clinician provided an overview of the current configuration of mental health services in Staffordshire as well as the transformation model underway and the partnerships involved in that.

In terms of the services delivered these spanned Adult Mental Health Community services, including increased access to psychosocial therapies, memory teams, dementia and memory services, crisis resolution and Core 24 (liaison mental health teams in acute hospitals (Burton hospital)), as well as Adult In-Patient Services, which for Tamworth residents were based at St George’s hospital and included Dementia in-patient wards and MOD beds as well a Social Care to support hospital discharge.

The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Community Mental Health Transformation Model aimed to proactively identify local population needs, gaps and emerging demand, using local knowledge in developing priorities and inequalities in health.  There would be no wrong door to access services, with a single point of access to services, enabling self-referral and a reduced threshold to access care.  There would be a drive for NHS providers to work with all voluntary services to remove boundaries. The model would involve partnerships with social care, substance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

(Update on responses to the Reports of the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee)

None to report to this meeting.

(Discussion item)

No matters had been referred to this Committee.

(To receive any update in respect of Staffordshire County Council’s Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee from County Councillor T Jay)

The Chair reported that the previous meeting of Staffordshire County Council Health & Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee had taken place on 5 July 2021.  At that meeting, the Councillor Claymore had sought clarification, as requested by this Committee, on the uptake of vaccination by homeless people.  The response was that when the majority of homeless people had been in temporary accommodation the vaccination teams had been able to locate and offer the first vaccinations leading to good uptake, however, the update for the second vaccinations had fallen off due to difficulties in locating people.

The Digest of the relevant business considered at the meeting on 5 July 2021 was published and made available to members and the Chair reported that the main item of relevance to this Committee appeared to be the Access to GP services item, where it was recognised that this was a Staffordshire wide issue, which the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was taking steps to ease.

Please see the link to the Forward Plan:

http://democracy.tamworth.gov.uk/mgListPlans.aspx?RPId=120&RD=0&bcr=1

The Chair highlighted two items from the Forward Plan:

1.     Leisure Services; and

2.     Homelessness Winter Relief 2021/22

The Committee agreed that it would like to consider the Leisure Services item prior to any final Cabinet decision, and further that Homelessness was already an area of focus for this Committee and therefore the above item should fit within its work plan.

To consider items for 2021/22 Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee Work Plan

The Committee updated the work plan as follows:

Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Work Plan