Agenda and draft minutes

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public present at the meeting.

Minutes of the meeting held on the 28^th July 2016 and 11^th October are attached.   

With regards to Minute number HSC.306 – Pennine Acute NHS Trust Care Quality Commission Inspection Report, Members discussed their concerns in respect of the current state of the health provision in the Borough including the proposed closure of two pharmacies in Bury.

Sharon Wells Customer Engagement Manager, Bury Council will attend the meeting.  Reports attached.

Members of the Committee considered a verbal presentation from Sharon Wells, Customer Engagement Manager, Bury MBC, in respect of complaints received to Adult Social Care Services from 1^st April 2015 to 31^st March 2016.  The accompanying report contained the following information:

There is a statutory requirement to produce an Adult Social Care Annual Complaints Report.  The paper provides statistical data in graph format for the reporting period.  The number of complaints received was 69, to put the total number of complaints received in context,  the department provides services to approximately 5570 individuals therefore this equates to 1.2% of the Council’s customers.  74% of complaints were responded to within 30 working days; the number of concerns raised by MPs and Councillors rose by one to 20; ten cases were considered by the Local Government Ombudsman.  The Department received 365 compliments.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

In response to a Member’s question, the Customer Engagement Manager reported that Regulations specify that if a concern is raised and dealt with within 24hours it is not recorded as a formal complaint.  The concerns raised would still be recorded centrally.

With regards to third party care agencies and Persona (an arms length organisation providing social care), the complainant would in the first instance, direct their concerns to the organisation.  The Customer Engagement Manager reported that the Council would only be made aware of the complaint if the organisation was not able to resolve the problem to the Customers satisfaction.

Members of the Committee raised concerns in respect of the rise in the number of complaints in the category headed, “financial charges”.  The Customer Engagement Manager reported that the rise in this area has been investigated and seems to be a result of mis-advice given by a temporary social worker, whom is no longer employed by the Council.  The Council have revised its procedures in respect of the information given to service users and their families, a financial charges booklet is shared with the service user and the service user is asked to sign and confirm receipt of this booklet.

The Customer Engagement Manager reported that if a member of staff receives a compliment then their line manager is made aware, all compliments are collated, the Executive Director will send a compliment card and the compliment is disseminated and highlighted at team meetings.

Members discussed the move to an IT based reporting system.  The Customer Engagement Manager reported that a pilot IT scheme is currently in operation and will go live in April 2017. 

Members asked for clarification from the Customer Engagement Manager with regards to the respective ages of the complainants.

It was agreed:

1.   The Customer Engagement Manager be thanked for her attendance.

The Customer Engagement Manager would provide the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee with further clarification in respect of the age range of the complainants compared with the demographic information of the service users.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health will attend the meeting to present her Annual Public Health Report.  A hard copy will be sent to Members.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health attended the meeting to provide members of the Board with an overview of the Public Health Annual Report.  The report is split into three sections:

•                               Progress on last years recommendations

•                               Groups who experience inequalities

•                               What more we can do locally

The report, which had been circulated to members prior to the meeting, provides details of the inequalities that exist in various categories including: gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBT and those experiencing mental health issues.  The report also provides a breakdown of the inequalities by ward.

·         Inequalities are having a significant impact on quality and the length of life of Bury residents

·         In addition to geographical inequalities, persistent health inequalities are experienced by different groups as a result of barriers to accessing services and resources, social exclusion, stigma and discrimination

·         A great deal of work is already happening to address these inequalities which is to be celebrated

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

In response to a Member’s question, the Director of Public Health reported that the focus of her report was those health inequalities that had the greatest impact across the Borough, and included, gender inequalities, disabilities and learning disabilities, physical inactivity and black and ethnic minority groups. 

With regards to measuring the impact of the I Will IF You Will Scheme (IWIYW), the Director of Public Health reported that the final data is not yet available.  At the start of the scheme women were less active than male counterparts.  The programme is now due to end shortly and information gained from the project will be used to inform the physical activity strategy.

Members of the committee discussed the lack of qualitative data available in respect of health inequalities in the Jewish community.  Salford City Council have undertaken research in respect of the Jewish Community and although useful, the Jewish Community based in Bury is very different from that based in Salford.  The Director of Public Health reported that she is aware of the lack of good quality information in respect of not just the Jewish community but other minority groups also.

In response to a Member’s question, in relation to the Healthy Schools Programme; the Director of Public Health reported that the national programme no longer exists and the local programme has been cut.  It is hoped that a new local programme may be re-established, which will link in with other providers and may include mental health and wellbeing support.

With regards to supporting those into work especially those with disabilities including learning disabilities; the Director of Public Health reported that there is an employment and health programme, one of its primary aims is to keep the workforce healthy as well as advising employers as to what support is available to Employers when employing somebody who may require additional support.

It was agreed that:

The Director of Public Health be thanked for her attendance.

There was no urgent business reported at the meeting.