Agenda and minutes

The Chair Cllr James Hockney welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Kate Anolue who was substituted by Cllr Mustafa Cetinkaya.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Adeleke, Hasan, Milne and Stevens.

Members of the Committee are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to the items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest registered in respect of any items on the agenda.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2022.

AGREED the minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2022.

To receive the report of Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults.

RECEIVED the report of Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults.

Cllr Alev Cazimoglu, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care introduced the report and extended thanks to the panel for the invitation to attend. The report provides an update on the implementation of the Quality Assurance Framework action plan which is expected to be implemented in October 2023. Aspects of the act are welcomed, in terms of the integration work, but it is very ambitious and does not really tackle the immediate pressures faced in the Health & Social Care system. It is a challenging time for Local Authorities on the back of ten years of austerity, the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis. However, despite all this Cllr Cazimoglu said she was confident that Enfield Council will be prepared come October 2023. It is a very important piece of work, and she welcomed the interest that the committee is showing.

Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults highlighted the key messages and explained that the work is in preparation for the new duty for the Care Quality Commission to assess how Local Authorities are meeting their Adult Social care duties and how Enfield Adult Social Care are preparing for these inspections. CQC’s new responsibilities under the Health and Care Act are twofold. Firstly, there will be a role in reviewing Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and secondly a new duty is placed on the CQC to assess how Local Authorities are meeting their social care duties under part 1 of the Care Act. Emerging CQC scope for reviews of Adult Social Care has started to be shared. The assessment framework has been grouped into four key themes, each with several quality statements mapped to them and these are set out in the report. A self -assessment tool developed by ADASS (the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) is being used to ensure that the desired processes are in place, or being worked towards, and that evidence is being regularly collated. CQC will speak to staff at all levels of the organisation as well as partners and those who use the services, their families, and partners.

Questions and comments were invited from Panel members.

The Chair, Cllr Hockney asked what the drive behind this change of process had been. Officers were not sure but said that there is an expectation from the Government for some sort of regulation for all large health bodies so this could be seen as an additional statutory layer. It is also about assuring that Local Authorities are carrying out their duties under the care act, as well as gaining an understanding of the system and how it works.

In response to a further question from Cllr Hockney as to what benefits will come from this process Sharon said that she always welcomes inspections as it is an opportunity to reflect on what’s been done, is being done and what could be done better, and that is what is happening now; by looking at the strengths of the service,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To receive the report of Louisa Bourlet, Community Health Development Officer.

RECEIVED the report of Louisa Bourlet, Community Health Development Officer.

Cllr Alev Cazimoglu, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care introduced the report and said that she was very excited to receive the funding of £485k through Public Health to the London Borough of Enfield (LBE) from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). It goes to the core of what the service does which is around tackling inequalities which is one of the main objectives and provides an opportunity to address this.

Dudu Sher-Arami, Public Health Director and Louisa Bourlet highlighted the main parts of the report which informed the panel of the vaccination uptake across Enfield, focusing on the disparities in uptake. Information was also provided on the development of an immunisation action plan, which will cover primary care, early years, schools, care homes and many other aspects of the system in its entirety. It is envisaged that this will be a living document with adaptations and development as a continued process. The work of the Vaccine Champions has been a fantastic opportunity and there has been a range of really innovative projects that local voluntary sector organisations have conducted on behalf of Enfield Council. Vaccine is one of the most effective products of health intervention in terms of outcomes and also the cost effectiveness so there is a very good evidence base for promoting this strongly to everybody who is eligible for vaccination.

Questions and comments were invited from Panel members.

The Chair asked how the £485k grant would be used and deployed. Officers advised that a small amount had been used to fund the coordination of the programme from within the team, but the vast majority has been allocated to local voluntary sector organisations to fund work to promote vaccinations and other health issues. There has been a stringent process with the Department for Levelling Up in terms of the proposals and processes established to distribute the money to the local voluntary sector organisations. Further detailed information was also provided on the types of projects that have been funded. Monthly reports are provided to the Department of Levelling Up on how and where the funding is being spent which provides an added level of scrutiny.

Cllr Milne said that he hopes this is creating a base of contacts and a baseline with hard-to-reach groups for early health intervention going forward. Officers agreed and said that moving forward it is about building on the relationships and the work that has already taken place to address the other types of health challenges that exist in the borough. 

Cllr Yuruk asked for clarification on the vaccine update figures in her ward. Dud advised that she did not have this information to hand but would forward this to Cllr Yuruk following the meeting. Action: Dudu Sher-Arami

Cllr Yuruk asked which groups of people are generally more resilient to receiving vaccinations in Enfield. Officers advised that the groups with a particularly low uptake in the borough are Black African, Black  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note the Health and Adult Social Care Work Programme for 2022/23.

NOTED the Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

To note the date of the next meeting as follows:

Wednesday 8 March 2023

NOTED the date of the next meeting as follows:

Wednesday 8 March 2023.

This meeting will commence at 7:00pm and be held in the Conference Room at the Civic Centre.

To receive the report of Fulya Yahioglu, Senior Service Development Manager, Adult Substance, Misuse & Sexual Health.

The Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel is asked to consider and comment on the report prior to it going to Cabinet on 8 February 2023.

(This item will contain exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person – including the authority holding that information) of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.)

The Panel AGREED that the Part 1 and Part 2 reports be taken together as there were no press or public present at the meeting.

Councillor Alev Cazimoglu, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care introduced the report and said that this had come to the Scrutiny Panel prior to going to Cabinet on 8 February 2023 and would reflect the comments and contributions made by the panel at tonight’s meeting.

Dudu Sher-Arami, Director of Public Health and Fulya Yahioglu, Senior Service Development Manager, Adult Substance Misuse & Sexual Health highlighted the key points of the report which was to seek approval from Cabinet to enter into a partnership agreement between Enfield Council and North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust (NMUH) for the delivery of the Enfield Integrated Sexual Health Community Services in accordance with Section 75 of the National Health Service Act (2006) consisting of Family Planning & Contraception, STI testing and treatment, sexual health outreach and services to support young people.

Information was provided on the current contract for delivery of sexual health services in Enfield which is due to end on the 31 March 2023 when the final 2-year extension of this contract comes to an end. Uptake in sexual health service provision in Enfield is good and has steadily increased with performance being sustained throughout the term of the contract. This has been complemented by a reduction in Enfield residents attending clinics out of borough with the implementation of the Hub and spoke mode of delivery in 2018. Placing sexual health provision under a Section 75 agreement between Enfield Council and NMUH will better enhance partnership working allowing for service development and redesign as well as innovation in delivery with the use of digital technology as presented during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will allow for better integration with community services, a key objective for the Council and NMUH, to support the sexual health and reproductive needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised, improve the local service offer to residents, deliver value for money and improve performance and quality.

Further information was provided on the national policy, local context, current service provision as well as the proposed model of service delivery in Enfield.

Following the update from Officers, in depth discussions took place which included reference to the information included in the Part 2 report and Officers responded to questions and comments raised.

The Panel noted the report and welcomed the proposals.