Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence submitted from Councillor J Grimshaw and Dr J Schryer.

No declarations of interest were submitted.

Questions are invited from members of the public attending virtually at the meeting on any matters for which this Committee is responsible.

There were no pre submitted questions and no Members of the public were in virtual attendance at the meeting.

Minutes of the meeting held on the 24th September 2020 are attached.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 24^th September 2020 were submitted for approval.

It was agreed:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health provided the committee with a verbal update and the latest information related to Covid 19.

The latest statistics were provided on the number of deaths and positive cases in the borough which was still one of the highest in the Greater Manchester area and North West region.

It was expected that there would be an increase in the new year with the usual winter pressures and the relaxation of rules over the Christmas period.

The Tier 3 restriction would be reviewed on the 16^th December and there were plans across Greater Manchester to roll out rapid testing devices which had helped control the virus nationally at places such as care homes and universities. Local pilots would be conducted with schools and care facilities.

Information was provided on vaccines and the logistical challenges involved a group had been set up to manage this when the vaccine arrive in the borough.

Councillor Dorothy Gunther asked would her GP contact her for a vaccine.

It was reported that calling systems were being developed and at this moment in time it was hard to provide details when you may expect to receive the vaccine.

The Chair, Councill Stella Smith questioned if there could be a duplication of workload with overlaps of national and local systems.

There was a confidence of robust and safe systems being in place and people would be invited for a vaccine appropriately.

Councillor Sandra Walmsley wondered if plans had been approved on how the vaccines will be delivery to care home residents and staff as a priority. It was reported that plans have been looked at and there was a determination to overcome challenges so people receive the vaccine as soon as possible.

The Chair commented on delays receiving test results after 2 to 3 days leading to problems and was pleased to see quicker turnaround times.

Councillor Roy Walker had reviewed the figures over the last few months and enquired how Bury was ranked higher than other parts of the region. The national lockdown and Tier 3 restrictions in certain areas had helped reduced cases in some areas. Repeating advice about face coverings, washing hands and social distancing would remain important.

If measures were lifted too soon then figures can shoot up and there was real concern about people mixing over the Christmas period.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

Kez Hayat, Commissioning Programme Manager for NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group was in attendance at the meeting with colleagues Jannine Robinson, Nasima Begum and Marina Nixon from the CCG to provide Members with a presentation on mental health and Covid 19 recovery.

It was reported that Programme plans had been reviewed and priorities updated to reflect the Covid 19 recovery phase.

A diagram to explain the Bury Mental Health Adult Services structure was shared with the committee and provided information on a complex pathway to access adult mental health services.

Support for children and young people was detailed with information on support lines and digital resources which have been launched in response to the pandemic. Early Break have a team of staff covering the help lines and the service is gathering detailed monitoring data to produce an evaluation report.

The Emotional Health & Wellbeing Offer for Bury was detailed with the Getting Help Line establishing excellent links with the other emotional health and wellbeing services in the borough.  They are linking people into other services as needed and the team has developed a wealth of knowledge of what local support is available.

The GM Bereavement service was launched in May, enquiries from Bury residents had been low, although the service provides limited listening support and practical advice before signposting people for counselling or further support to local services. 

Support for the BAME community was reported and several local support organisations offer practical help and activity sessions to help mental wellbeing.

An update was presented on the demand for mental health service with a summary of data provided and regular updates on demand and capacity were being monitored.

Information was given on services which have been maintained and their activity levels via remote appointments or telephone.

Future plans for mental health services in Bury were provided with priority actions identified for certain group and there would be several key areas for development in the coming months.

The Chair commented that some of the text contained in the presentation report format was too small to read and asked if this could be increased in size.

Councillor Walker asked about people who had a mental illness and were on the streets, would current services be able to support that group. It was reported that there was help available to the homeless and most vulnerable and examples of support provided to rough sleepers was explained.

Councillor Holt asked about demand for services from people with learning disabilities and it was explained that these have had to operate differently due to Covid rules but outreach support had still been provided. Councillor Holt added that day centres had not been operating as usual and was the system coping. It was reported that during the first lockdown a resource had been produced providing information on support available such as community hubs to help with food and medicine deliveries.

Due to the impact of Covid, Councillors expressed concerns with a potential rise in cases involving domestic violence  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.382

Will Blandamer (Executive Director, Strategic Commissioning, Bury Council and Bury CC) provided the committee with an update on the intermediate care review of facilities across the borough.

The 6 week review consultation ended on the 30^th November and 278 people took part in the consultation by either visiting the website or requesting information.

29 people went on to download further information and a breakdown of this data is listed below:-

• 37% were health and social care staff
• 60% were members of the public
• 3% were carers
• 85% lived in Bury

27 people contributed to feedback and over 48% supported the proposals.

Some of the comments which related to being negatively affected are detailed below.

·         A question about the availability of care beds not illness beds (Although this was not the purpose of the review)

·         A concern about the future use of the Bealey Community Hospital building

·         The needs to ensure the availability of complex rehabilitation and no plans to change this availability

·         A concern about less choice for intermediate care and we would be keeping the same amount of choice

No other negative comments had been submitted.

26 people went on to say what they would like the Bealey site to be used for (If not intermediate care) housing, leisure and education being the most popular usage.

The Chair commented on the importance of step down care from hospital admission before returning home and thanked Will Blandamer for the update.

An updated report on any proposals could be included at a future meeting in the new year once the consultation had been fully reviewed.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

No urgent business was reported at the meeting.