Agenda and draft minutes

Co-opted Member present – Dr J Beal

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No interests were raised at the meeting.

To consider a report from the Head of Democratic Services responding to the Board’s request to receive an update from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust on the impact and response to the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report to provide an update from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) surrounding the impact of the Covid-19 Omicron variant on service delivery and how the Trust is responding to try and mitigate this impact. The Board’s request also expressed an interest to understand how the Trust is working to particularly address the impact on elective care patients in terms of reducing waiting times for elective surgery.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Councillor S Arif, Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Councillor F Venner, Executive Member Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Cath Roff, Director of Adults and Health

·  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

·  Clare Smith, Chief Operating Officer LTHT

·  Rob Newton, Associate Director Policy & Partnerships LTHT

The update was provided in the form of a PowerPoint presentation during the meeting and included the following information:

·  The number of Covid-19 positive patients in LTHT statistics March 2020 – January 2022. The data compared the Omicron wave in relation to other waves and it was reported that:

o  There was less demand on principal care due to population immunity

o  There is less Covid-19 related deaths

o  There were a number of patients with Covid from the Delta wave already in hospitals, prior to the Omicron wave that presented new challenges

o  Covid admissions rapidly changed how the hospitals operate

·  Staff absences March 2020 – June 2022 data, from suspected Covid-19 sickness absence, shielding and Test and Trace. It was noted that there were huge pressures on staff absences, equating to 12.5% staff absent.

·  The current position across hospitals. There are currently 66 patients in LTHT hospitals positive with Covid-19 and the cases across Leeds remain high.

·  Responding to the Omicron wave included actions across the Trust and with partners such as:

o  Creating capacity – conversion and opening of wards to establish 10 wards to care for Covid positive patients; curtailment of elective activity to make more wards available; and increasing the rate of discharge and reduce the number of patients staying in hospital who could be cared for at home.

o  Reducing risk – additional Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) measures to restrict transmission within the hospital.

o  Vaccination – responding to the target to increase booster vaccinations through the centre at Elland Road.

o  Nightingale – the build of a temporary structure in a St James’ University Hospital car park during January. This facility has not been required and completion works on it have been paused

·  The number of patients in hospital with No Reason to Reside has gradually increased since April 2020.

·  Elective surgery – current position on the total waiting list for patients awaiting treatment. It was reported that there are over 75k patients waiting, and the number of people waiting 104 weeks has increased due to the Omicron surge.

·  Actions to address the backlog in elective operations, diagnostics, and outpatients including:

o  Current activity – elective operations have continued throughout  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To consider and discuss a report from the Head of Democratic Services which presents information surrounding the workforce development of Primary Medical Services in Leeds.

Further to the minutes of the meeting held 7^th September 2021, the Head of Democratic Services submitted a report that provided further information surrounding the workforce development of Primary Medical Services in Leeds.

Appended to the submitted report included a briefing paper from NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group on Primary Medical Services in Leeds Workforce Development.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Councillor F Venner, Executive Member for Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Councillor S Arif, Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Cath Roff, Director of Adults and Health

·  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

·  Kirsty Turner, Associate Director Primary Care NHS Leeds CCG

·  Lisa Kundi, Senior Manager Primary Care Integration, NHS Leeds CCG

·  Gaynor Connor, Leeds GP Confederation

Members were advised of the following points:

·  It is down to the 92 individual practices to recruit and train staff, there is no fixed model of delivery and partners are being worked with to look at plans and trajectories for the future.

·  An overview was provided on the Leeds position in terms of General Practice Workforce Statistics data as of September 2021 and satisfaction with appointment times.

·  Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, acknowledging that Leeds currently has 225 WTE roles employed under the scheme, with an ambition to employ 530 additional roles. There are challenges in terms of accommodating staff and funding implications with the development of new roles.

·  Care navigation roles have been introduced to support patients to see the right professional based on their needs first time.

·  Community pharmacy consultation services are live across 44 practices in Leeds and there are just under 2,000 referrals covering a range of conditions.

Member’s discussions included:

·  The Board acknowledged that the level of variation across the satisfaction responses are not acceptable and sought clarity on what individual practices and Leeds CCG are doing to ensure services are better suited to the needs of the public. It was confirmed that work has been on-going to work with the practice with the lowest level of satisfaction, and key indicators and information is relayed to practices. Additionally, members were informed that statistics for the level of satisfaction responses have remained consistently above the national average and only once dipped below the national average in 2020 during the Covid pandemic.

·  A member commented on the range of roles across Primary Care Networks (PCN) and queried the difference in the numbers of roles across each PCN. It was acknowledged that the amount of funding available varied depending on the size of the population, and it was confirmed that there is already a city-wide social prescribing service, hence why some PCNs may not feel the need to cover this role and instead, put investment into additional roles they feel is appropriate for their service.

·  Members were informed that whilst there are a number of GP and nurses vacancies, there is no indication of a work crisis situation and there is sufficient capacity to meet the needs of the population. 

·  Clarity on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To consider and discuss a report from the Head of Active Leeds which presents an update on the development of the Physical Activity Ambition for Leeds and also the work of Active Leeds programmes and activities.

The report of the Head of Active Leeds presented an update on the development of the Physical Activity (PA) Ambition for Leeds which is being led by Active Leeds and Public Health together with partners across the city. The report also provided an update on the work of Active Leeds programmes and activities since the last update of the Scrutiny Board meeting held 24^th November 2020.

Appended to the submitted report included a copy of the COVID-19 Rapid Literature Review Report and case study examples.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Councillor F Venner, Executive Member for Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Councillor S Arif, Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Cath Roff, Director of Adults and Health

·  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

·  Steve Baker, Head of Active Leeds

·  Gill Keddie, Active Leeds Development Manager

·  Natalie Curgenven, Operations Manager Active Leeds

·  Judith Fox, Public Health Manager

The Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles commended the work undertaken on behalf of Public Health and Active Leeds to ensure levels of activity are increasing across communities, to become healthier and more sustainable. It was acknowledged that there is a clear gap in addressing inequalities and ensuring all people can access facilities.

The Head of Active Leeds introduced the report and briefly highlighted the following points:

·  The progress of the City Ambition in terms of Public Health work and what has been achieved

·  Leeds Beckett University have carried out research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

·  It was identified that inequalities have worsened and BAME communities having the biggest impact on Key Performance Indicator inactivity levels

·  The establishment of a Physical Activity Partnership Board

·  Members were provided with a short video on an example of a session introduced by Get Set Leeds, and were provided with information on the work the team have carried out

·  The impact of COVID-19 on leisure centres in terms of membership levels and performance

·  Investment into leisure centres such as gym refurbishments and changing facility upgrades

·  Issues with staffing and recruitment

·  Research and a consultation exercise to understand people’s requirements and methods on how to improve access to services

Member’s discussions included:

·  The importance of linking wider public transport and liaison with West Yorkshire Combined Authority to ensure the public can access physical activity. Members were informed that work is underway to look at policies and travel initiatives more broadly.

·  The need to ensure there are minimal financial barriers and seek to ensure leisure centres are inclusive to everybody. Members suggested that the service look at gym membership costs in terms of gym only memberships, family memberships and reduced prices for off-peak/single visits.

·  Concerns were raised that some leisure centres do not provide female only changing spaces and exclude disabled access by not providing changing places / toilets.

·  The need to liaise with the NHS to look at social prescribing and how to reach more people across communities through a health setting.

·  Clarity was sought on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To consider and discuss the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2021/22 municipal year.

The report of the Head of Democratic Services introduced the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule (Appendix 1 of the submitted report) for the 2021/22 municipal year.

The Board discussed upcoming areas of work on the schedule, including:

·  Access to local NHS dental services – Working Group scheduled for Friday 25^th February 2022.  A summary note of the working group’s discussion/outcomes will be provided at the Board’s March meeting for formal ratification

·  To note that the March meeting will also include an item on the new Better Lives Strategy for the Board’s consideration prior to it being finalised.

·  Proposal to carry out site visits to leisure centres across Leeds, as discussed in the Active Leeds and Physical Activity Ambition Update

·  Proposal to schedule an additional consultative meeting to discuss the on-going development work surrounding the new Integrated Care System

 RECOMMENDED – To note the work schedule for the remainder of the 2021/22 municipal year, including additional areas of work as outlined above.