Agenda and minutes

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary or other Pecuniary or non pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Section 3 paragraphs 3.25 – 3.27 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 3.28 of the Code.

The Chair will ask Members to confirm that they do not have a declarable interest.

All Members making a declaration will be required to complete a Declaration of Interests at Meetings form detailing the nature of their interest.

No declarations were made.

Resolved –  That the minutes of the meeting held on 25^th March 2015 be approved as a correct record.

The Board received a presentation from Mark Cooper, Director of Deaf Positives Action and Healthwatch Champion, on their recently published report on “Deaf and hard of hearing people’s experience when accessing health services in Slough”.

The report set out the feedback and issues that deaf and hard of hearing people faced locally when accessing health services including GP appointments, emergency services and other means of communication such as websites and online access.  In addition to the day to day barriers experienced in accessing services, communication problems could have serious consequences in terms of the quality of care and outcome for the patient.  A number of recommendations and practical advice was contained in the report including the provision of sign language interpreters and the greater use of technology to improve communication.

Members welcomed the report and congratulated the authors on raising the profile of such an important issue.  It was recognised that the issues raised in the report extended beyond health across a wide range of public services relevant to Wellbeing Board partners.  A number of specific issues were discussed including the training of GP receptionists in British Sign Language; the importance of making available International Sign Language interpreters where necessary; and the opportunities to use new technologies such as In-vision.  The Board were asked by Healthwatch to support a forthcoming workshop for sixteen GP practices in Slough on Deaf Awareness, and the CCG offered administrative support to the event.  It was also noted that the report had been considered by the CCG Governing Body, where it had been well received, and by GPs who would be doing more work to take forward some of the recommendations.

Resolved –  That the report on “Deaf and hard of hearing people’s experience when accessing health services in Slough” be noted and that partners consider the practical steps they could take to improve access to their services for deaf and hard of hearing people.

The Board received a presentation from the Commissioner for Community & Leisure, Councillor Carter, on the Council’s new 5-year Leisure Strategy, ‘Get Active Slough’.

The strategy was designed to target those not participating regular physical exercise and to get “more people more active more often” to tackle the estimated cost of inactivity of £24.5m per annum in Slough.  There were three key elements to the new approach – improved core facilities including investment in the ice arena and a replacement of the Montem Leisure Centre; better local provision on people’s doorsteps such as parks, cycle paths and multi-use games areas; and facilitating strategic change through co-ordination, partnerships and targeted support.  Members were updated on a range of specific components of the strategy including improved signposting (www.sloughhealth.org); the Get Active campaign in association with Sport England; and pop-up health and leisure activities which could be delivered in communities.

The Board welcomed the new strategy and supported the principles and objectives underpinning the new approach.  The importance of providing and promoting opportunities to live healthy lifestyles and increase all types of formal and informal exercise were vital in increasing the wellbeing agenda.  A number of issues were discussed which are summarised as follows:

• It was recognised that the involvement of a range of partners, including public health and employers, would be key to the successful delivery of the strategy.
• There was considerable discussion about the ways in which each partner could be engaged either by leading strands of activity; signposting; volunteering; and/or match funding.  The funding of initiatives such as Smart Parks was discussed, and it was suggested that the costs be broken down so that potential public or private sector partners could consider supporting individual schemes.
• A Member asked whether the strategy also included steps to help people suffering from chronic health conditions to increase their level of activity as part of the treatment for their conditions.  It was responded that better signposting, joining up with services such as Healthy Hearts at Montem Leisure Centre and rehabilitation programmes were part of the strategy.
• Engagement with employers was discussed and it was felt that links to company’s corporate social responsibility activities could provide opportunities in terms of volunteering and funding.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Board thanked Councillor Carter for his presentation and it was agreed that further discussions would be held with individual partners to consider how they could be involved in delivery.

Resolved – 

(a)  That the Board note the report and support its objectives as described.

(b)  That partners give due consideration to how they could provide proactive support, and where possible budget, to assist in delivering the proposed outcomes.

The Board considered a report regarding the development of a new Voluntary Sector Strategy which focused on the services and support for adults with health and social care needs delivered by the voluntary and community sector.

It would be a joint strategy between the Council, Public Health and Slough’s Clinical Commissioning Group and the level of spend of £1.4m next year would be a continuation of the existing funding with the sector.  The overall indicative funding package was £4.2m over three years.  The new strategy would seek to improve alignment with key priorities and outcomes and this may result in some existing services not being funded in the future.  The emphasis of the new approach was to work with the voluntary and community sector to prevent future demand on public services by prioritising prevention.  Members were informed of the commissioning process that would be followed over the autumn with the new contracts in place by 1^st January 2016.  The new approach would allow longer contracts to provide greater certainty for both services and providers.

The Board recognised the principles behind the new strategy in seeking to achieve the best outcomes for local people given the financial constraints.  It was agreed that the outcomes, as detailed in paragraph 5.3 of the report, would need further definition and it was also felt that engagement with the sector would be important.  In response, it was noted that an engagement process was ongoing and further work on a clear set of measurable outcomes was underway.  A Member also asked how the new strategy would promote primary prevention to keep people well and reduce future demand on services.  It was noted that the provision would be commissioned in three bundles, two of which focused on primary prevention.  At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board agreed to note the report.

Resolved –  That the report on the new Voluntary Sector Strategy be noted.

(Councillors Anderson and Hussain left the meeting at this point.  Lise Llewellyn took the chair for the remainder of the meeting)

A progress report was considered on the development of an Overarching Information Sharing Protocol for the Slough Wellbeing Board.

A draft of the Protocol, attached at Appendix A to the report, had been circulated to partners for comment since the previous meeting, however, it was noted that some partners would require more time to fully consider the draft before being in a position to sign up to the Protocol.  It was therefore proposed and agreed that the current draft be re-circulated shortly after the meeting, with a deadline for partners comments of the end of June.  The Board would be invited to approve the final draft at their next meeting in July.  Board members were encouraged to engage with the relevant colleagues in their organisations to ensure due consideration was given to the document to enable all partners to sign the Protocol and implement it in their own organisations.

The Board discussed a number of other issues including steps to embed the Protocol which would include appropriate training and awareness raising across the partnerships.  It was recognised that some bilateral information sharing arrangements were already in place and it was agreed that these should be mapped to ensure the new Protocol complemented any existing agreements.  Consideration should also be given to engaging key health and social care partners not currently involved in the development of the new Protocol, notably Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust.  It was agreed that such organisations should be approached at the appropriate time later in the year to engage them.

Resolved –

(a)  That the current draft of the Overarching Information Sharing Protocol be re-circulated to partners, with comments fed back to Slough Borough Council by the end of June.

(b)  That the Board consider a revised draft of the Overarching Information Sharing Protocol for approval at their next meeting to be held on 15^th July 2015.

(c)  That any relevant existing information sharing protocols between partners be mapped to ensure alignment with the new Protocol.

(d)  That Officers consider the further steps to ensure effective implementation of the Protocol, once agreed, including training and awareness raising amongst partners.

(e)  That other relevant health and social care partners, including Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust be approached at the appropriate time with regards to information sharing arrangements.

The Board received an information report on the development of a Child Poverty Strategy for Slough, which would sit under the Slough Wellbeing Strategy and set out how partners would co-operate to tackle child poverty.

Resolved –  That the report be noted.

The Board received an information report on the development of a new Children and Young People’s Plan.  The draft plan for the period May 2015 to December 2016 had undergone consultation and the final plan would be considered by the Children & Young People’s Partnership Board at its meeting on 18^th May 2015.

Resolved –  That the update be noted.

To note.

The Board considered the Action Progress Report and noted that most actions had either been completed or were in progress.

Resolved –  That the Action Progress Report and Future Work Programme be noted.

Resolved –  That the attendance record be noted.

15^th July 2015

Resolved –  That the next meeting be confirmed as 15^th July 2015.