Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Andrew Seaman, Senior Democratic & Electoral Services Officer  E-mail:  andrew.seaman@harrow.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

115.

Minute Silence

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee observed a minute silence for the late Councillor Vina Mithani, a vice-chair of Health and Social Care Scrutiny Sub-Committee.

 

Members and officers paid tribute to the late Councillor Vina Mithani.

116.

Membership

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.5, the Conservative Group have given notice that Councillor Hitesh Karia be appointed to the vacancy on the

Scrutiny Sub-Committee (with effect 9 November 2021).

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the Sub-Committee welcomed Councillor Hitesh Karia as a main Member of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Sub-Committee.

117.

Attendance by Reserve Members

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

 

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

 

(i)            to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)          where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)         the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)         if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no Reserve Members in attendance.

118.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 9 KB

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

 

(a)          all Members of the Sub-Committee;

(b)          all other Members present.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that the declaration of interests, which had been published on the Council website, be taken as read and that during the course of the meeting:

 

(1)            Councillor Kairul Marikar, a member of the Sub-Committee, declared a nonpecuniary interest in that she worked for Hertfordshire NHS Trust and CNWL NHS Trust.  She would remain in the room whilst the items were considered.

 

(2)            Councillor Michael Borio, a member of the Sub-Committee, declared a nonpecuniary interest in relation to item 10: Covid and Vaccinations Update for Harrow in that he worked for the Department for Education.  He would remain in the room whilst the item was considered.

 

(3)            Councillor Hitesh Karia, a member of the Sub-ommittee, declared a nonpecuniary interest in that he was a Director of a domiciliary care company.  He would remain in the room whilst the items were considered.

119.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 228 KB

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2021 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2021, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

120.

Appointment of Vice-Chair

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee for the remainder of the 2021/2022 Municipal Year.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: To appoint Councillor Dr Lesline Lewinson as Vice-Chair of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Sub-Committee for the remainder of the  2021/2022 Municipal Year.

121.

Public Questions

To receive any public questions received in accordance with Committee Procedure Rule 17 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

 

Questions will be asked in the order in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

 

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, 8 November 2021.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk   

No person may submit more than one question].

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions had been received.

122.

Petitions

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 15 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions had been received.

123.

References from Council and Other Committees/Panels

To receive any references from Council and/or other Committees or Panels.

Minutes:

None received.

Resolved Items

124.

Covid-19 and Vaccinations Update for Harrow

Presentation from the Director of Public Health.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received a presentation from Harrow Council’s Director of Public Health and NHS staff which outlined the current position with regards to Covid in the borough as well as updating the Sub-Committee on progress with the vaccination programme.  The following key points were raised:

 

·                 The case rate for London had been generally lower than surrounding areas, with highest rates found in Cumbria, however cases were also high in parts of West England, Bedfordshire and St Albans.  As of 5th of November 2021 654 cases had been reported in Harrow in the previous 7 days.

 

·                 The 11 – 16 age group continued to have the highest rate of cases; however, this had halved due to the half term break, this being said the number of LFD recordings had also decreased during this period.  However, no significant rise in cases had been seen in any age group.

 

·                 Since the 1st of October 2021, 70 Harrow residents had been admitted to hospital due to Covid-19, 36 were vaccinated with the majority of the 36 vaccinated were 60 or older.  This had shown that those unvaccinated were twice as likely to be admitted with covid.   In addition, intensive care data had shown that only 1 in 5 were vaccinated.

 

·                 Those that lived in affluent parts of Harrow were more likely to be vaccinated compared to those that lived in the most deprived parts of Harrow, in addition, people of black heritage and people in white ethnic groups had remained the least likely to be vaccinated.

 

·                 A local consultation had been planned to find out why people had chosen to have their first vaccination now as opposed to when they were first eligible.  The information gathered would be used to encourage uptake of the vaccine, particularly to areas that had a lower uptake.

 

·                 That 284,000 vaccinations had been administered within Harrow, where GP practices, pharmacies and vaccination centres had been used for the vaccine to be delivered.

 

·                 Primary, mental health and acute care systems had returned to business as usual with the backlog of cases to be addressed a key challenge, whilst the vaccination programme continued.

 

·                 A target had been set for community engagement over vaccination uptake to be improved and for a number of approaches to be used.

 

·                 More than 75% of Harrow’s population had already received their booster vaccination.

 

·                 Only 40% of children in north west London had been vaccinated.

 

The Chair thanked officers and NHS representatives for their updates and asked a number of questions, which were responded to as follows:

 

·                 Asked if contingency plans for local outbreaks had been planned as part of the winter plan and what additional ward space and equipment had been identified at Northwick Park Hospital.  The Deputy Chief Executive of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust explained that a winter and contingency plan had been made for the hospital, which included how additional ward space would be created.  In addition, it was planned that some elective activity may be reduced for bed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 124.

125.

Update from the CQC Inspection of Services at Northwick Park Hospital pdf icon PDF 267 KB

Presentation from the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received a report from London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust’s Chief Nurse, which provided an update on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in April 2021 of Maternity and A&E services provided by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWHT) at Northwick Park Hospital.  The following key points were raised:

 

·                 A CQC visit had taken place at Northwick Park Hospital in April 2021, where two departments were visited:  Maternity Services and the emergency department.

 

·                 The overall rating for the Trust remained to be “required improvement” however inspectors had noted significant improvements within the emergency department.

 

·                 The CQC rated Maternity services as inadequate and had found areas of serious concern. A full improvement plan for maternity services had been developed in response to the issues found.  This plan consisted of three themes which were: workforce, culture and leadership; women-centred care and safe, effective care. 

 

·                 Improvements had been made to their systems and processes at Northwick Park Hospital, in addition a new leadership team had been introduced which had made a positive difference.

 

·                 Freedom to speak up champions were introduced which had given staff who might otherwise had been afraid to report concerns.  In addition, a zero tolerance of bullying stance had been taken.

 

·                 The maternity improvement plan was reviewed on a weekly basis, the internal maternity improvement group would meet on a monthly basis ensuring the plan would be delivered.  The ICS had operated a fortnightly check and challenge meeting within the Maternity ward which had since moved to a monthly meeting.

 

·                 A priority remained for appointments in key leadership posts to be made.  In addition, an organisational development plan had been implemented in order to support and nurture teams.  However, vacancy rates remained a challenge and were highlighted to be a long-term issue.

 

·                 Progress had been made and there was a focus for long-term strategic plans to be implemented for success to be ensured.

 

·                 General feedback from the CQC had been received and included improvements in staff attitudes, behaviours and morale were to be seen.  Significant improvements in documentation were also noted and that it was recognised that changes made were required to be embedded into their structure.

 

The Chair thanked officers and NHS representatives for their updates and asked a number of questions, which were responded to as follows:

 

·                 A Member noted that it was good for some progress to be seen but aware that more work was needed.  It asked how working cultures differed between departments within the same hospital and what mechanisms were in place to allow for shared learning.  The interim CEO at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust explained that they had identified a need for excellent clinical leadership where there would engagement, staff would be supported and that diversity and inclusion were embraced would have a positive impact on work place culture.  It was noted that the new structure in the maternity unit had met these values.

 

The London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust’s Chief Nurse added  ...  view the full minutes text for item 125.

126.

Update from NW London Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 342 KB

Report of the Director of Strategy & Partnerships.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report from Harrow Council’s Director of Strategy & Partnerships which provided an update on discussions held at the meeting of the NW London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) on 23 September 2021.

 

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.