Agenda and draft minutes

Please note this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method.  Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on.  By entering the ‘meeting room’, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual, or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were given for Cllrs Clarke, Milne and Revah. Cllr Milne had sent a substitute Cllr Chris Day who attended the meeting on behalf of Enfield Council.

Apologies for lateness were received from Cllr Atolagbe.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business.  (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear.  New items will be dealt with under item 10below).

None.

The Chair declared an interest in that she was a member of the Royal College of Nursing and also that her sister was a GP in Tottenham.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

None.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings on 9^th September 2024 and 11^th November 2024 as a correct record.

That the minutes of the NCL JHOSC meetings on 9^th September 2024 and 11^th November 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

It was also noted that the Action Tracker would be circulated to Committee members after the meeting. ACTION

To provide an update on the Health Inequalities Fund including details about projects in the community that are supported by the Fund.

Report to follow.

The Director and Assistant Director of Strategy, Communities & Inequalities at NCL ICB, introduced the report. The beneficiaries of the Health and Inequalities Fund were also present and introduced to the Committee.

The Director emphasised that the experiences of COVID had highlighted a health disproportionality within the population. Deprivation was cited as a key determinant of health. It was also noted that there had been a shift in government policy to funding projects within the community. It was stressed by the Director that the Health Inequalities Fund was reviewed every year, but that input was needed to improve.

The Assistant Director began by highlighting that a £5m investment came from the NCL ICB to address health inequalities through projects in the community. He highlighted that money tended to flow to boroughs where there were larger numbers in deprivation – therefore Haringey had more projects in the area.

The projects all built on community power. There were more than 50 projects being funded by the NCL ICB. The team had produced an evaluation process based on findings from individual projects. Examples of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) included the numbers of people helped, how many from the target populations and whether projects were making a major impact on diverting patients or potential patients away from NHS services.

In totality, the Assistant Director stated, NCL ICB Health Inequalities projects have helped over 26,000 people – this represents 10% of people living in the 20% most deprived areas nationally.  In addition, 75% of project objectives had been met however there had been less success when it came to health determinants.

Commissioned research by Middlesex University indicated to the NCL ICB that co-production needed to be strengthened across the board.  It was noted that community groups were successful in achieving project aims as the populations involved were already known.

 ABC Parents

• Project founder Dr Okereafor introduced her charity. Through her work in a Paediatrics department, she stated, she observed that approximately 50% of her patients attended hospital because of parental feelings of fear and powerlessness when their child was ill. This was brought on by a lack of basic medical knowledge and confidence.  In conjunction with Paediatrics, she developed first aid courses aimed at parents to build their knowledge and resilience.  The outcome of the courses were to help avoid inappropriate attendances at hospitals - but also to provide support to those who needed it most. The Charity now delivers eight courses a week in a variety of languages, on topics vital for new parents.

• The project’s Champions Lead built on co-production principles and encouraged parents who had been supported by the charity, to then become supporters of new parents and a wider network of knowledge in their communities. These new supporters were helping to spread the knowledge in communities that professionals traditionally found ‘hard to reach’.

The floor was then open to questions.

• The Chair enquired whether funding was long term. She asked about the possibility of the pilot project being extended out to hospitals.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To provide an update on workforce issues in NCL.

The most recent previous update to the Committee on this issue was on 29^th January 2024. To view the minutes from this discussion please see Item 46 at:

https://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=697&MId=10545&Ver=4

Report to follow.

The Chief People Officer to the NCL ICB introduced the report.

In addition to the report, the Committee learned that:

·         It was a challenging year for people managers. Industrial action and a spike in respiratory illnesses nationally had put strain on the workforce.

·         With regards to medical and dental clinical and nursing roles, vacancies had dropped and there was good sustainability in the workforce currently.

·         The WorkWell project had enabled better joint working between medical departments. Patients who needed support where automatically being referred to a Health and Wellbeing Coach for extra support.

·         The Shaw Trust had supported 3,000 residents into work.

·         There was work to support care leavers and care experienced young people into employment with the NHS. Forty care leavers had been engaged. The project was funded by Drive Forward and NHS England would be supporting 25 extra places.

The floor was opened to questions.

The Chair enquired for further information on Health and Social Care Hubs. The Chief People Officer explained that the General London Assembly had funded five Health and Social Care academies across London to support the least represented in the workforce in London. In addition, work was carried out with every employment hub to support those in care.

The Chair pointed out that although 40 care leavers had been supported only 10 had been offered employment at the end of the year- she questioned whether this was value for money. The Chief People Officer responded by stating that the Care Leavers Programme is funded by the third sector. She explained that intensive support into work was needed for those in care, as many had mental health issues, and were transitioning from a life in care into work. She added that Line Managers needed support to help keep Care Leavers in work – the ICB had created training programmes to address this.

The Chair then asked further about access to the extra micro funding to help care leavers into work -such as free prescriptions, help with transport costs and interview costs. The Chief People Officer explained that councils and multiagency groups were responsible for these.

Cllr Atolagbe enquired how long this extra support was given to care leavers. The Chief People Officer explained that the line manager training should support care leavers throughout employment, however the intensive mentoring programmes for those entering employment was twelve-weeks. She added that there was a challenge around the availability for entry level jobs in the NHS, which is why 10 employment placements was considered a success. 

Cllr Atolagbe referred to the metrics in the WorkWell report. She enquired as to why there was a ‘Did not start’ category (on page 58). The Chief People Officer responded that some did not qualify for the programme. For example, those who worked but did not live in North Central London would not qualify. She added that residents would also have to commit to time with the Work and Health Coach - who would support them in or back into work if needed.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

To provide an outline of the 2024-25 work programme for the NCL JHOSC.

The Chair stated that the April JHOSC meeting would be themed as a community-based meeting.

It was proposed that the topic of mental health should be covered again and that the report should cover progress from last year and actions from the previous meeting. It was pointed out that metrics should be presented by borough. ACTION

It was also suggested that more information was needed from the ICB as to what difference was being made to patients/residents and whether information was being shared with central government. ACTION

The London Scrutiny Network was then discussed, and an invite was extended to the rest of the Committee.

To note the dates of future meetings:

-       7^th April 2025

·         Mon 28^th April 2025 (10am)