Agenda and minutes

Diocesan Representative Mr B Hall and Co-opted Member S Freeman submitted their apologies.

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.

The Chairman advised that two requests to make deputations had been submitted.

The first deputation was read out by the Chairman, on behalf of a local resident, regarding a number of challenges they faced when attempting to secure EHCPs for their children. They also highlighted concerns from the wider SEND community on this matter. The deputation included a number of requests for further information to be provided on EHCP processes in the Borough.

The second deputation was made by a local resident, on behalf of the North Solihull Additional Needs Support Group, regarding mental health. They detailed how the group had seen a significant decline in the mental health of the parent carers they supported, as well as their children. The resident detailed their experiences when attempting to secure support, including via the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, and emphasised the impact upon her own mental health, as well as her family.

The Chairman thanked the residents for making their deputations. He emphasised the role of Councillors in supporting residents and their families to secure the necessary help and services. It was also agreed for a written response to be provided to both residents.

To receive the minutes of the Joint Children and Adults Scrutiny Board meeting held on 22^nd September 2022.

The minutes of the Joint Children and Adults Scrutiny Board meeting held on 22^nd September were submitted.

  RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd September be approved as a correct record.

The purpose of this report is to provide the Scrutiny Board with details of the Solihull Mental Health Delivery Plan for comment.

Theplan has been developed from a number of existing strategies and plans that are in place for BSOL, but outlines priorities and actions that are specific to Solihull, enabling a focus on the needs of people in the borough.

The Executive Director of Operations, BSOL Mental Health Foundation Trust, took Members through a presentation, outlining the proposals for the Solihull Mental Health Delivery Plan.

Members raised a number of queries and observations regarding the Delivery Plan, which in summary included the following:

·  A Member made the following points:

-  Whether there could be further reference to supporting young people and adults to access and remain in employment.

-  Queried whether definitions of a crisis could be provided, to support early intervention and prevention.

-  They emphasised the importance of continuity of support, to help build understanding and ensure that people didn’t have to repeat their stories.

-  They also stressed the importance of the transition from youth to adult services and welcomed the identification of specific actions on this in the Delivery Plan.

·  A Member highlighted the existing high levels of demand and emphasised this was likely to increase – they queried the plans in place for this.

·  The Executive Director of Operations explained how additional funding had been provided for the existing waiting lists and demand. Going forward, it was recognised this would be a challenge and emphasised the focus in the Delivery Plan on early help and prevention, including via schools, GPS and the voluntary and community sector.

·  A Member noted the Delivery Plan detailed reviewing the Mental Health offer for Housing Tenants – they queried whether this could be expanded for parents and carers who were going through the EHCP process. They also requested for this to include parents and carers who had had a child placed with them through Social Services.

·  A Member highlighted the Council’s offer for residents requiring financial advice and support and requested for this to include signposting to the Mental Health services available.

·  A Member flagged up how the Delivery Plan referenced support available via GP services – they emphasised the challenges people could face when attempting to access GP services.

·  The Executive Director of Operation detailed the additional investment in ARRS roles, where specialists worked alongside GPs in Primary Care, to support the mental health offer.

·  A Member flagged up how the plan referenced the provision of Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) in Solihull – they emphasised the importance of the support in place for non-MHST schools.

·  A Member raised the following points:

-  The importance of the Plan reflecting how poverty was a major risk factor for Mental Health. They requested for the Plan to link with existing health inequalities work.

-  The need to ensure the MHST support in School was not provided in silo and that the whole school environment was taken into account.

-  The emphasis on early years and maternal mental health was welcomed. They requested for further focus on Autism, ADHD and other forms of neurodiversity, as part of the maternal mental health offer.

·  A Member made the following observations:

-  They requested for a wider range of people and families to be engaged in the development of Plans and Strategies, from the outset.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

The following agenda items are scheduled to be considered by the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board:

·  Minutes of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board meeting on 22^nd September 2022.

·  Update on access to Primary Care and the Reprovision of Services at Solihull Hospital

·  Motion from Council

·  Developing the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Strategy

·  Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board Work Programme

To receive the minutes of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board meeting held on 22^nd September 2022.

The minutes of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board meeting held on 22^nd September were submitted. It was requested for the minutes to be amended, to show that Councillor A Wilson had joined the meeting

  RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd September be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendment to show that Councillor A Wilson had joined the meeting.

For the Scrutiny Board to receive:

·  Update on access to GP Services for Solihull Residents

·  Update on the reprovision of services at Solihull Hospital

·  Communications and engagement plan

Update on access to primary care

The Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration, BSOL ICS, took Members through the initial report, updating them on access to Primary Care services.

Members raised a number of queries and observations, which in summary included the following:

·  Members expressed their thanks for the report and to all staff in Primary Care, recognising the significant challenges.

·  A Member raised the following points:

-  They noted the update on demand and activity – they questioned how many people may have stopped attempting to arrange an appointment, due to difficulties in accessing services.

-  The latest average call waiting time in Solihull was 24 minutes – they queried what further measures could be undertaken to help reduce this down further.

-  They questioned whether a call-back service could be used to help reduce call waiting times.

·  The Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration explained how, across Birmingham and Solihull, 95 per cent of practices had Cloud-based telephony. This enabled greater functionality to provide additional services, such as a call-back option. Work was being undertaken at a BSOL-level, to support practices to make further use of this technology. The Cloud-based telephony also provided opportunities for further data collection, to help assess services and monitor trends. The Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration detailed the work being undertaken on this with the GP teams.

·  The Chief Officer for Partnerships detailed how phone calls could take 4-5 minutes, due to the triage process. This was to determine the order of treatment of patients, to ensure those in most need were seen first and refer people to the appropriate support.

·  In response to a Member query, the Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration confirmed the GP sites advised the triage system added value. The Member queried whether any local Universities had undertaken research on the efficacy of the triage system - the Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration explained national research had been undertaken and it was confirmed this request could be looked into.

·  A Member detailed the challenges they faced recently when attempting to get a family member a triage appointment.

·  The Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration confirmed they would be happy to have a further conservation with the Councillor, to gain further understanding of their experience and learning. It was explained how GP sites were a multi-disciplinary environment and all staff were trained and supervised to support the triage system.

·  A Member expressed concern at non-GP staff determining whether people should receive an appointment, as part of the triage system. They also raised their concerns that, during the pandemic, systems had been rapidly put in place. The Member queried what assessments were being undertaken to ensure these systems were robust.

·  The Chief Officer for Partnerships and Integration agreed it was correct that, in a number of instances, systems had been rapidly put in place to initially offset the impact of the pandemic. However, he explained that, prior to Covid, there had been national initiatives to expand digital  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

To consider a motion which was referred from Full Council. The motion was originally considered by the Board at the meeting on 8^th June 2022. It was noted Members will be provided with a further update at their meeting on 9 November 2022, on GP Access and Urgent Care and the Board agreed to defer consideration of the motion until then.

The Chairman proposed the following response to the referred motion from Council, on access to GP Services for Solihull residents, as well as the re-provision of a Minor Injuries Unit at Solihull Hospital:

‘The motion was originally considered by the Board at the meeting on 8^th June 2022. It was noted Members would be provided with a further update at their meeting on 9 November 2022, on GP Access and Urgent Care and the Board agreed to defer consideration of the motion until then.

Access to GP Services for Solihull Residents:

The Heath and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board welcomes the update on how Solihull General Practice (GP) teams are responding to ongoing operational pressures. It is recognised the NHS and GP teams continue to experience severe pressures, with significant increases in demand levels.

Demand and Activity - the Scrutiny Board endorses the increased volume of appointments offered by GP teams in Solihull.

Recruitment, Retention and the Additional Workforce – the Scrutiny Board recognises recruitment and retention in general practice have been challenging both nationally and locally. Members welcome that, in response, there has been a focus on recruiting additional health professional roles to support staffing levels, with Solihull identified to benefit from 68 Full Time Equivalent Primary Care Network roles.

Solihull Healthcare Partnership – Members note an Intensive Support Plan has been developed and agreed between NHS England Primary Care Transformation Team and Solihull Healthcare Partnership, with the aim of improving services to SHP patients. Members endorse the actions undertaken by SHP and the ICB, as outlined in the report.

Proposed next steps – the Scrutiny Board endorses that the ICB is engaging with GPs, community teams and University Hospitals Birmingham to design an Integrated Neighbourhood Team exemplar in Solihull, to support improved access to primary care and same day urgent care. Members also recognise the ICB support for the PCNs and GP teams through additional managerial and clinical leadership resources.

The Scrutiny Board welcomes the actions undertaken locally to increase the volume of appointments and support offered via GP teams and Primary Care services in Solihull. It is also recognised that complaint numbers are reducing. Members express their thanks to all staff involved for their continued commitment.

Overall, it is also important to take into account that many local residents continue to contact their Councillors raising concerns on access to GP services. It is recognised that the Health and Wellbeing Board will continue to monitor the delivery of these services. In addition, there will continue to be future reporting on access to GP services at the Birmingham and Solihull Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Update on the re-provision of services at Solihull Hospital:

The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board endorses the option, as set out in the report, to re-provide a Minor Injuries Unit on the Solihull Hospital site, in line with the national service specification.

The Scrutiny Board agrees to receive a future report on the re-provision of an Urgent Treatment Centre on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board to be engaged on the development of the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Strategy.

The Chief Executive of BSOL ICS andChief Officer for Strategy and Partnerships, BSOL ICS presented the Integrated Care Partnerships ten year strategy.

Members raised the following queries and observations:

·  A Member questioned how the delivery of the Strategy would take into account patient experiences. As examples, they raised patients’ experiences of knowing how to access different services, arranging appointments, as well as travelling to different sites to receive the service.

·  The Chief Officer for Strategy and Partnerships explained how the metrics identified in the report were largely outcome measures. She detailed the role of the ICB on focusing on input measures, such as patient experience and access to services. The Chief Executive of BSOL ICS detailed how the ICS Strategy was an overarching Master plan for local NHS services for the next 10 years. The ICB would be required, in response, to produce a plan setting out how they would deliver their functions and this would take into account the points raised by the Councillor.

·  A Member responded to a key question outlined in the report on making the strategy real for people – they stated the importance of residents receiving a quality service, when they needed it, with proactive ongoing support. They welcomed the metrics outlined in the report. They emphasised how the key outcomes for residents in Solihull were around living longer, living without ill health, alongside a major focus on reducing health inequalities across the Borough.

  RESOLVED

  The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board:

(i)  Endorsed the proposed vision, ambitions, objectives and principles for the ICS ten year strategy.

(ii)  Requested that the points raised by Councillors be considered as part of the development and delivery of the ICS ten year strategy

(iii)  Agreed to take into account the priorities of the ICS ten year strategy as part of its future work planning.

To consider the Work Programme for the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board.

The latest Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board Work Programme was presented to the Board.

  RESOLVED

  That the latest version of the Boards Work Programme be noted.