Agenda and minutes

Co-opted Member present – Dr J Beal

At the start of the meeting, the Chair welcomed Caroline Baria to her first Scrutiny Board meeting as Interim Director of Adults and Health.  The Chair explained that Cath Roff recently stepped down as Director to take up a new role with the Council as the Project Manager for Social Care Transformation.  The Chair therefore took the opportunity to also pay tribute to Cath for her achievements as Director and for the support she provided to the work of Scrutiny over the years.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 25* of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(* In accordance with Procedure Rule 25, notice of an appeal must be received in writing by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting).

There were no appeals.

1.  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2.  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3.  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:

  No exempt items have been identified.

There were no exempt items.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

There were no formal late items.

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

No declarations of interests were made at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

No apologies for absence had been received.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th January 2023.

RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th January 2023, be approved as an accurate record.

Minute 54 – Minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd November 2022

During its November meeting, the Board had discussed access to local NHS dental services (minute no. 44 refers) and at that stage it was acknowledged that a service review of Yorkshire and Humber Community Dental Services (CDS) was being undertaken by NHS England.  Having sought further clarification from NHS England on the status of the review, the Principal Scrutiny Adviser explained that work remained ongoing in terms of the review findings being subject to further clinical and stakeholder engagement/consultation to support final publication in the summer.

Linked to the Board’s existing commitment to maintain a watching brief of progress towards improving access to local NHS dentistry, the Chair explained that, once available, the findings of the CDS review would form part of a future update report to the Board.  Members also acknowledged the work of the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on dentistry, which involved a written submission to the Health and Social Care Parliamentary Select Committee as part of a national inquiry on dentistry.  It was noted that the findings of the national inquiry would also be reported back to the Scrutiny Board for consideration in due course.

Minute 57 - Performance Update

Last month, the Board referred to the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon and particularly the costs associated with taking part in this event as it was felt that this may be seen as a potential barrier for the most disadvantaged groups and communities. It was acknowledged that the Chief Officer for Operations and Active Leeds had subsequently liaised with the organisers on this matter and provided a written response to Board Members summarising some of the targeted engagement initiatives in place.  This helped to give further assurance that community is at the heart of this event.  The Board extended their gratitude to the organisers.

Minute 59 - Initial Budget Proposals for 2023/24

The Principal Scrutiny Adviser confirmed that the Board’s deliberations on the relevant budget savings proposals did inform a composite report from Scrutiny.  This report had been acknowledged by the Executive Board during its meeting held on the 8^th February 2023 and also formed part of the agenda papers for consideration at Full Council on 22^nd February 2023.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services which presents a progress report produced on behalf of the Independent Chair of the LSAB for the Scrutiny Board’s consideration.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report which presented a progress report produced on behalf of the Independent Chair of the Leeds Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB) for the Scrutiny Board’s consideration. The report from the LSAB included its annual report for 2020/2021 and summarised progress made against its Strategic Plan for 2021/22, as well as sharing some early thinking about its ambitions for 2022/23.  Also appended for the Board’s attention was the feedback report from the Safeguarding Adults Board Peer Challenge that was undertaken as part of sector led improvement within the Yorkshire and Humber ADASS Region.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Cllr Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Cllr Salma Arif, Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Caroline Baria, Interim Director of Adults and Health

·  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

·  Shona McFarlane, Deputy Director Social Work and Social Care Service

·  Richard Jones CBE, Independent Chair of Leeds Safeguarding Adults Board

The Chair welcomed the attendance of the Independent Chair of the LSAB, Richard Jones CBE, and invited him to briefly introduce the LSAB report.  As part of this introduction, the Board was assured that all safeguarding partners remained committed towards developing effective ways of working collaboratively.  As partners continue to recover from the impacts of Covid-19, it was highlighted that such development work involves building on innovative practice that was developed during the pandemic.  Reference was also made to existing workload pressures, with the data showing an increasing trend in safeguarding referrals since 2018/19.  Given the significant challenges that individuals, families and communities are now facing within the context of the current cost of living and energy crisis, Members were advised that this was also likely to create more vulnerable individuals as well as impacting those already considered vulnerable.  However, the LSAB Chair explained that the increased trend in referrals could also be seen as an indicator of greater awareness of adult safeguarding and how to seek support when someone has concerns for a person’s safety and wellbeing.

When a referral is received by Leeds City Council: Adults & Health, then a decision is made on whether to undertake a safeguarding enquiry based upon the criteria set out within Section 42 of the Care Act 2014.  It was highlighted that in 2021/22, there were 3101 safeguarding enquiries commenced, which equated to 25% of all referrals.  While the data over recent years showed a decreasing trend in the percentage of referrals leading to Section 42 enquiries, the LSAB Chair assured Members that whenever a safeguarding enquiry is not deemed to be required, other forms of support, advice, information or other services will have often been provided dependent upon the nature of the risks, the specific concerns and the person’s particular needs.

The LSAB Chair then summarised some of the key achievements and future challenges linked to the four key ambitions of the LSAB which are: develop citizen-led approaches to safeguarding; improve awareness of safeguarding across communities and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services relating to a review of out of hours bereavement arrangements at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report relating to a review of out of hours bereavement arrangements at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT).

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Cllr Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Cllr Salma Arif, Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Caroline Baria, Interim Director of Adults and Health

·  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

·  Rob Newton, Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships, Leeds Teaching Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT)

·  Mike Philpott, General Manager Pathology, LTHT

·  John Adams, Medical Director (Governance and Risk), LTHT

·  Reece Wolfenden, Lead Service Manager for Bereavement and Medical Examiner Services, LTHT

·  The Rev’d Ben Rhodes, Head of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care, LTHT

In introducing this item, the Chair explained that in September 2019, the Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles Scrutiny Board had received a briefing from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) regarding changes to its out of hours bereavement arrangements aimed at improving the experience of bereaved families. Such changes involved the introduction of new processes to enable the timely release of deceased adult patients for ceremonial and burial purposes for religious and cultural reasons.  However, the Chair explained that the Trust is now undertaking a further review of its out of hours bereavement arrangements and was therefore invited to today’s meeting to engage with the Scrutiny Board at this early stage of the review process.

The Board received a presentation that was led by the Medical Director (Governance and Risk) at LTHT.  The key points raised during this presentation were as follows:

Ø  The Trust currently operates a 24 hour service, with the out of hours service operating on weekday evenings (from 16:30 onwards) and at weekends.

Ø  The responsibility for releasing deceased adult patients to funeral directors out of hours is taken on by Clinical Site Managers (CSM). There is one CSM at Leeds General Infirmary and one at St James’s University Hospital.

Ø  Out of hours release requires a significant amount of resource and coordination by CSMs. During times of operational pressure, a timely service by CSMs cannot be guaranteed given other urgent needs for patient care.

Ø  While a new service model is being developed, the Trust will continue to provide an out of hours service. However, in doing so it is proposed that the Trust considers moving to a 08:00 to 20:00 service on weekends and weekdays.

Ø  The Trust is awaiting further details surrounding a new Statutory Medical Examiner System that is expected to come into force in April 2023. This system will require Medical Examiners to provide independent scrutiny of all deaths not taken for investigation by a coroner which is therefore likely to have an impact on service delivery.

Ø  Other considerations linked to making changes to the service were also outlined and included establishing clear policies and practice for out of hours during both weekdays and weekends; ensuring timely release of bodies with the potential to reduce  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2022/23 municipal year.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report that presented the work schedule for the remainder of the municipal year.

The Principal Scrutiny Advisor introduced the report and reminded Members that the Board had agreed to hold a working group meeting to consider the current position surrounding the delivery of the Leeds Mental Health Strategy with a view to also identifying key areas that would potentially benefit from more focused scrutiny work to be taken forward into the new municipal year. This working group had been arranged for Thursday 9th March 2023.

While acknowledging that the Board is expected to hold its final formal meeting on 21^st March 2023, suggestions for future work items were also made. These involved inviting the new Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to discuss their vision for the Trust with the Board and having an item to understand the current position surrounding the demand and provision of local cancer treatment services.

RESOLVED –That the contents of the work schedule for 2022/2023 and the suggested areas of future work be noted.

Tuesday, 21st March 2023 at 1.30 pm (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 1.00 pm)

RESOLVED – To note the next meeting of the Board asTuesday, 21^st March 2023 at 1:30pm (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 1.00 pm)