Agenda and minutes

Venue: MS Teams

Contact: Dominic O'Brien, Principal Scrutiny Officer, 020 8489 5896 

Note: Use the link on the agenda front sheet or paste the following into your browser: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OTk2MDU5MGUtODJlMC00MTk3LWIwYjYtNTljNGJjZTFhNzMw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%226ddfa760-8cd5-44a8-8e48-d8ca487731c3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22d1dc05de-ecbd-4e6c-b7b3-3a52b6175baf%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

FILMING AT MEETINGS

Please note that 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. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. 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 and using the public seating area, 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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members noted that the meeting was being streamed live on the Council’s website.

 

2.

Apologies for absence

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

 

3.

Items of Urgent Business

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 as noted below).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

 

4.

Declarations of Interest

A Member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

 

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest

becomes apparent, and

 

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

 

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

 

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interest are

defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Pippa Connor declared an interest by virtue of her membership of the Royal College of Nursing.

 

Cllr Pippa Connor declared an interest by virtue of her sister working as a GP in Tottenham.

 

Cllr Nick da Costa declared an interest by virtue of his ownership of a company working with the NHS, medical providers and healthcare practitioners on a variety of projects, none of which, to his knowledge, work in Haringey Borough though they do potentially work in surrounding areas and with service providers across London.

 

5.

Deputations/Petitions/ Presentations/ Questions

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

 

6.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 443 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting on 25th February 2020 were approved as an accurate record.

 

7.

Care homes in Haringey pdf icon PDF 315 KB

Summary of the impact of Covid-19 on care homes in Haringey so far, including infection/fatality numbers and details, which care homes were most significantly affected.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Will Maimaris, Director of Public Health, introduced a report summarising the impact of Covid-19 on care homes in Haringey Borough. He said that care homes remain a clear priority for the Council in terms of the response to Covid-19. There had been a significant impact on the care sector in Haringey, particularly in March, April and May in terms of excess deaths. The report highlighted some of the learning from that and the interventions that had been put in place since then. He pointed out that in Haringey there is quite a small number of older people’s nursing and residential homes and so the Council had a close relationship and regular communication with all of the care providers. He said that some of the key priority areas in terms of preventing future outbreaks in the coming months were:

  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – which all Haringey care homes have access to.
  • Regular testing
  • Hospital discharge protocols
  • Advice and guidance being received by care homes
  • Clinical support for care homes

 

Will Maimaris said that a further report had been provided to the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee which included data on death rates in care homes and that Haringey had performed better than the sector average. (Report available at: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=10089&Ver=4)

 

Will Maimaris (Director of Public Health), Charlotte Pomery (Assistant Director for Commissioning), John Everson (Assistant Director for Adults), Angela Healy (Quality Assurance Manager, NCL CCG) and Farzad Fazilat (Head of Brokerage) responded to questions from the Panel:

  • Asked by Cllr da Costa about recent media reports about underpaid care workers in Haringey and when the London Living Wage would be implemented for them, Charlotte Pomery said that the reports related to an employment tribunal regarding a historic practice from 2016. She said that the implementation of the London Living Wage was being worked on with the expectation that this would be in place by October.
  • Asked by Cllr da Costa for an update about the amended decent sick pay for care workers motion passed at a recent Full Council meeting, Charlotte Pomery said that this was a complex issue and that the necessary background work was currently being done by officers as requested by the motion.
  • Asked by Cllr Connor whether care homes were currently able to fund care workers who are required to self-isolate, Charlotte Pomery said that a new initiative had been recently announced to support those who might hesitate to say that they have symptoms for fear of losing out financially. The Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund had also recently been extended. Cllr Connor asked for clarification about whether care workers who are required to self-isolate still receive their full wage. Charlotte Pomery responded that there was some complexity about the different types of care workers and so it would be necessary to gather this information and provide it to the Panel in writing. (ACTION)
  • Asked by Cllr Culverwell about the most vulnerable demographic groups, Will Maimaris said that those  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Learning Disability & Autism update pdf icon PDF 218 KB

Update on LD & Autism services including the proposed new services at Waltheof Gardens in the changed circumstances resulting from Covid-19.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Charlotte Pomery, Assistant Director for Commissioning, introducing this item noting that the report provided an update on the work being done with users of learning disabilities and autism services and the impact of Covid-19 on those plans.

 

Charlotte Pomery and Georgie Jones-Conaghan, Lead Commissioner for Adult Learning Disability and Autism, responded to questions from the Panel:

  • Asked by Cllr da Costa about the virtual digital offer and people who are digitally excluded, Georgie Jones-Conaghan said that services at Ermine Road were developing ten hours per week of a digital programme as part of their day services offer. Part of this had been tried out during the first wave of Covid and had received a positive response. Several day service providers had shared similar experiences as part of a provider forum that had taken place the previous week. It would be important to consider the needs of people with learning disabilities as part of the wider work on digital exclusion.
  • Asked by Cllr da Costa about the Learning Disability Strategy, Georgie Jones-Conaghan said that this would start development next year and would be co-designed.
  • Asked by Helena Kania about support for carers, Georgie Jones-Conaghan said that a Carers Strategy had been in development prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and there had then been a significant amount of telephone outreach with carers during the lockdown period to understand what support they needed and to offer support through Connected Communities, the Adult Social Care First Response Team or through the NHS. The Carers Strategy was expected to be launched next month and had been co-designed with carers. Helena Kania noted that the phone exercise demonstrated how out of date much of the Council’s data was, as many of the people contacted were no longer carers. Georgie Jones-Conaghan said that part of the recent learning as one of the themes of the Carers Strategy was on the identification of and communication with carers. Cllr James added that she had recently attended a couple of carers forum meetings and welcomed the good level of engagement from carers. Cllr Connor noted that some further information about the Carers Strategy had been made available through the Adult Social Care Redesign Group and asked that this be forwarded to Helena Kania. (ACTION)
  • Asked by Cllr Culverwell about the use of the term “enhanced communication”, Charlotte Pomery said that communication issues included people who are non-verbal or who do not speak English as a first language so taking these factors into account was important when identifying support needs and the wider strategic approach of the Council.
  • Asked by Cllr Opoku whether the Covid-19 pandemic had worsened contact with families or the existing health conditions of service users, Charlotte Pomery said that the lockdown period had actually been a time of enhanced communications with carers and acknowledged that certain health conditions present in people with learning disabilities and autism could make them more vulnerable to Covid complications. Georgie Jones-Conaghan added that a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

'Stock take' on current situation with Adult services pdf icon PDF 484 KB

Summary of how services have been affected during the Covid-19 pandemic and what has been learnt.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

John Everson introduced this item, noting that the report covered issues including the approach to service delivery since the lockdown, some of which had been discussed earlier in the meeting. In particular, he highlighted the commitment and drive of staff and in partner organisations to respond to a huge change in the way that services had to be delivered in terms of the restrictions that were in place and the additional demands on the system.

 

John Everson then responded to questions from the Panel:

  • Cllr Hakata noted that the Connected Communities programme had worked well and asked how it could work together with mutual aid groups. John Everson said that Connected Communities had been a very powerful and effective stream of work that had increased the capacity of the Council to respond to the pandemic and the ability to rebuild afterwards. Beverley Tarka said that the impact of the pandemic had disproportionately affected some sections of the community and that the mutual aid groups had been an important part of the response, adding that these connections would be sustained going forward. Cllr James added that the local mutual aid groups were invited and sometimes attended the meetings of the Community Enablement Group which brings together organisations from the community and voluntary sector. Cllr Connor said that it would be useful to receive a future update on the Community Enablement Group and how it is working with community organisations. (ACTION)
  • In response to a point from Cllr da Costa about supporting mutual aid groups with safeguarding concerns, John Everson said that a sub-group of the Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) had been set up to look at the nuances that Covid presented and to flag risks. The SAB aims to ensure that all partners, including mutual aid groups, have sufficient access and support to understand safeguarding principles and procedures. There had also recently been an increase in people highlighting safeguarding concerns which was, in a way, reassuring as it demonstrated that people were actively using referral processes and thereby enabling appropriate investigations to take place. Asked by Cllr Connor whether there were sufficient staff to investigate these referrals, John Everson said that his team monitors safeguarding activity, had increased staffing capacity to manage that and had put in place triaging approaches to improve ways of working.
  • Asked by Helena Kania how often people in the shielded group were contacted, given that their situations may change, John Everson said that after the initial contacts, shielded people were triaged to appropriate Council services or connected to voluntary and community support services. Additional information was provided to people so that they could call back at a later time if required. Beverley Tarka added that the approach is not simply one-off crisis management because the data on shielded people had helped the Council to better understand which people have short-term needs, medium-terms needs and more complex support needs with people then directed to the appropriate pathways. Asked by Cllr da Costa for data on shielding people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Work Programme 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 298 KB

To discuss items for the work programme for the Panel for 2020/21.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Connor updated the Panel on the Adult Social Care Commissioning scrutiny review which had previously been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lack of officer availability. The Panel agreed to gather the remaining evidence required through a final session with officers as soon as possible and to conclude the review.

 

Panel members made suggestions for topics for future scrutiny reviews:

  • New ways of working in the NHS, including the way that people access A&E, how patients see their GP and developments relating to the 111 service.
  • How the mutual aid groups see their relationship with the Council, how this had worked during the lockdown and how this expanded capacity could be utilised in future.
  • Reductions in funding for social prescribing and the potential health impact of this.
  • The shared and lived experiences of residents of the Covid-19 pandemic and Council services (such a review would most likely need to be held after the pandemic was over)
  • The Council’s preparedness for future waves of Covid-19.

 

11.

Dates of Future Meetings

Additional documents:

Minutes:

·         Tues 17th Nov 2020

·         Thurs 10th Dec 2020

·         Tues 23rd Feb 2021