Agenda and minutes

No apologies were received.

To receive declarations of interest from Members.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer any questions, if any asked by any resident of the Borough pursuant to Standing Orders.

No questions or deputations were submitted.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting held on 7^th January 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7^th January 2021 were presented for approval.

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meeting held on 7^th January 2021 were approved.

To receive a verbal update on the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

The Director of Organisational Development and Partnerships for Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (BSol CCG) introduced the item. The focus of the programme to date had been on the nationally defined priority groups 1-4, however they had started to vaccinate Cohorts 5 and 6. The supply of vaccines was linked to the population size of the priority Cohorts; which as a result limited the number of vaccines available. Plans had been arranged to prepare for when people required their second dose. There had been lots of engagement and joined up working between organisations such as local Primary Care Networks (PCNs), University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) and Local Authorities. They recognised that the data and information BSol CCG received should be available to the public for scrutiny and aimed to make this easier to receive.

The Executive Lead for Sollivac introduced his presentation and raised the key points:

·  Sollivac was set up to support the COVID-19 vaccination programme from four locations in the Borough through GPs and Solihull Community Nurses.

·  For Cohorts 1-4, there had been an uptake of 93%, and Cohort 5 would be completed within the next week. Sollivac worked alongside Mass Vaccination Sites (MVS) to enable the rapid roll out of this programme.

·  The new definitions of those who should shield had been assessed and applied to local residents, as well as those who were carers.

·  The vaccination programme had put a strain on the workforce. Staff had gone above and beyond to support the programme, and some non-essential activity had to be paused. To support and sustain the programme, there was a significant recruitment drive for additional staff.

·  There remained a number of concerns which included tight planning timelines, public support and the ramifications of restrictions being eased.

·  Alongside the vaccination programme, GPs continued other activities through the Winter Operating model.

Members commented on the briefing and asked the following questions:

• A Member sought confirmation where the four PCN vaccination sites in the Borough were located. They were situated at Chelmsley Wood Primary Care Centre, Balsall Common Medical Centre, Richmond Medical Centre and Monkspath Surgery.
• A Member highlighted that some residents had received letters to invite them to be vaccinated at both the MVS and PCN sites, and asked whether it was clear that residents could wait to be vaccinated at a local site if they were unable to travel to the MVS. Also, they queried about reports people were able to book a vaccine appointment even though they were not eligible. The Clinical Lead for UHB confirmed that there was coordination between MVS and PCN sites, and the letter for the mass site stated that residents could choose to wait for their GP to contact them. It was noted that there had been an issue with the booking system, but the incident raised had been resolved, and extra work had taken place to ensure it would not happen again.
• Members enquired about vaccine hesitancy, and what data had been collated about this. The Director for Public  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.