Agenda and minutes

Councillor Margaret France replaced Councillor Alex Hilton at this meeting only.

County Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, County Councillor Stuart Morris, County Councillor Jackie Oakes, County Councillor Lian Pate, Councillor Sue Gregson, Councillor David Howarth and Councillor Jennifer Mein attended the meeting virtually, via Microsoft Teams.

Apologies were received from Councillor Barbara Ashworth (Rossendale Borough Council), Councillor Alex Hilton (Chorley Council) and Councillor Jenny Molineux (Hyndburn Borough Council).

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

None.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record.

The Chair welcomed to the meeting Paul Havey, Director of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Vaccination Programme, Jamie Sweet, Programme Operational Lead, Carole McCann, Associate Director and Senior Nursing Support, and Abdul Razaq, Interim Consultant in Public Health at Lancashire County Council.

The committee considered a presentation (circulated to members in advance of the meeting) delivered by Paul Havey, Carole McCann, and Jamie Sweet on Covid-19 vaccination uptake and the steps taken to address inequalities in relation to the vaccination programme. A copy of the presentation is set out in the minutes. It was highlighted that:

·  To date, over 80% of eligible Lancashire residents had received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination and over 70% had received a second dose. Vaccine uptake amongst 12–15-year-olds was still low, with only 31.2% receiving a first dose.

·  Generally, once people received a first dose, they were likely to return for a second dose. Lancashire was making good progress compared to other regions in North West and across the UK.

·  Phase 3 of the vaccination programme included the delivery of third doses (or 'boosters') and the evergreen offer for first and second doses. Phase 3 was being delivered by the primary care network, by community pharmacies, by vaccination centres and, on a smaller scale, at hospitals.

·  Between May and July 2021, Lancashire and South Cumbria experienced the highest rate of infection nationally. To address the surge, vaccinations were offered hyper-locally. For example, 35,000 vaccinations were delivered in East Lancashire in a 6-week period by pop-up, mobile and existing vaccination sites. Working with local authorities also encouraged people who were hesitant to get vaccinated; the support of staff at Lancashire County Council had been integral to the programme's success.

·  Walk-in appointments and the offer provided by mobile vaccination vans were key to reaching communities. The van visited schools, supermarkets, shopping centres, homeless shelters, places of worship and Gypsy Roman Traveller communities, for example, to deliver roughly 100,000 vaccinations since the end of May 2021.

·  Some groups were harder to reach or underrepresented compared to others. Work with the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN) helped to promote the vaccine among Lancashire's Black Caribbean and African populations. Home visits were organised for young people with serious underlying health conditions who struggled to attend vaccination centres. Partnering with football clubs to promote the programme through player vaccinations, social media and match-day messaging was also effective.

·  To engage the younger population, the vaccination van attended college enrolment days to offer the vaccine conveniently. Despite the focus of Phase 3 of the programme on delivering a third dose to the older and more vulnerable population, the programme continued to target younger cohorts. Social media, such as the #AskAuntieCarol campaign, was used to myth-bust and promote the vaccine to this audience.

·  Lancashire and South Cumbria covered approximately 40 Gypsy Roma Traveller community sites. 3 sites in Lancashire had been identified as pilot sites to begin discussing the vaccination and educating residents about its benefits. Initial engagement was conversational, but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The committee considered the report of the Health Scrutiny Steering Group followings its meetings held on 22 September and 13 October 2021.

Following a query about the complaints received from consultant pathologists regarding the proposed Lancashire and South Cumbria Pathology Collaboration, it was noted that the Chair had discussed the need for further staff consultation with the programme lead, Mark Hindle, and provided an email reply to the consultants on behalf of the county council's Health Scrutiny function.

Resolved: That the report of the Health Scrutiny Steering Group be noted.

The committee reviewed the Health Scrutiny Work Programme for 2021/22.

It was noted that an update on the New Hospitals Programme would be provided at a future meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee once the longlist of options had been shortlisted and when more information could be provided on available funding. The Health Scrutiny Steering Group had considered the longlist, which was also available to the public, at its meeting held 22 September 2021 and had provided feedback to NHS officers during the meeting.

County Councillor Stuart Morris, Champion for Mental Health, suggested he could provide the committee with an update about activities in Lancashire related to mental health at a future meeting.

Resolved: That

i)  The Health Scrutiny Work Programme for 2021/22 be noted; and

ii)  The suggested update on mental health activities in Lancashire be considered by the Health Scrutiny Steering Group for inclusion on the Health Scrutiny Work Programme 2021/22.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member’s intention to raise a matter under this heading.

None.

The next meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee will be held on Tuesday 14 December 2021 at 10.30am at County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to be held on Tuesday 14 December at 10.30 am, at County Hall, Preston.