Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Dr Mona Ahmed, Cllr Anne Cyron, Cllr Gerard Hargreaves, and Co-opted member Cleo Chalk.

Any member of the Council who has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting is reminded to disclose the interest to the meeting and to leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

Members are also reminded that if they have any other significant interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting, which they feel should be declared in the public interest, such interests should be declared to the meeting. In such circumstances Members should consider whether their continued participation, in the matter relating to the interest, would be reasonable in the circumstances, particularly if the interest may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests, or whether they should leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

No declarations of interest were made.

The minutes of the Meeting held on 20^th May 2024 are submitted for confirmation.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Appendix A – Community Diagnostic Centres in North West London – to follow.

The Chair invited Damien Bruty, Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) Senior Programme Manager at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Dr Philip Lung, Consultant Radiologist and CDC Clinical Lead at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, to introduce the report. Mr Bruty advised that the report detailed progress in the implementation of the CDC strategy agreed in summer 2022, with two of three sites operational and a third in Ealing due to open in August 2024. The report also included data on uptake of the additional diagnostic capacity by RBKC residents.

The Chair invited the Committee to discuss the report. Members of the Committee:

1.    Noted the ambition to deliver an additional 180,000 diagnostic tests across the three CDCs in financial year 2024-25 and asked if the resources were in place to achieve that goal. Mr Bruty advised that the opening of the Ealing CDC would provide significant additional capacity across a range of services, with a majority of staff recruited and trained, and some final posts in the process of being filled. The figure of 180,000 was based on initial projections for service use and expanded based on growing the workforce.

2.    Asked if concerns about attracting and maintaining staff identified during the planning stage had been addressed. Mr Bruty responded that significant work had been undertaken by NHS England to increase local pathways for the diagnostic workforce to grow, as well as attract private sector and international workers, in order to meet staffing demands of the additional capacity. Dr Lung added that vacancies remained and therefore more work needed to be done to fill posts.

3.    Asked what measures had been introduced through the CDC programme to reduce health inequalities and improve access to healthcare for the most deprived communities. Mr Bruty advised that reducing health inequalities was a central mission of the programme in North West London. Population and health data had been used to identify where health needs were greatest, with access points and travel considerations deliberately targeted around making CDCs accessible to the most deprived communities in the area. Operational hours and opening times had also been expanded to better meet local needs, with surveys and patient feedback used to further inform how and when services were needed most.

4.    Asked how the impact on the local population would be evaluated. Mr Bruty stated that population health analysis would be compared to see the effect of service interventions and locate where demand for services remained unaddressed to inform the probable expansion of community diagnostic facilities.

5.    Sought clarity on how CDCs were integrated into the existing healthcare system. Dr Lung explained that each CDC was linked to an existing NHS Trust that provided governance control and care quality assurance. Patients were referred via the centralised referral system for north west London, which received and processed referrals from primary, community and secondary care, based on agreed referral criteria.

6.    Welcomed the ability of CDCs to release additional capacity and reduce waiting times for diagnostic tests, but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair introduced the item and invited Cllr Josh Rendall, Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, Anna Raleigh, Bi-Borough Director of Public Health, and Dr Andrew Steeden, Medical Director, NHS North West London Integrated Care Board to speak to the report. They were joined by Muskaan Khurana, Head of Health Equity and Engagement and Alicia Williams, Senior Public Health Strategist.

The Director of Public Health noted that the report provided a summary of the physical, emotional and mental health needs identified in a profile of the population’s health, and details of community engagement carried out during the review to inform the community-led recovery process. The Committee were urged to note the Grenfell JSNA’s position within the Council’s wider goals and health and wellbeing strategy.

Dr Steeden highlighted that the collaborative work done during the refresh of the JSNA between the Council and local health partners was testament to the commitment to transparency in the monitoring of the impact on health needs of the Grenfell tragedy. He added that the insights gained during the process would be used to plan local healthcare delivery for the next four years.

The Chair invited the Committee to discuss the report. Members of the Committee:

1.          Emphasised the need for the delivery of services to be informed by data on the health of residents affected by Grenfell. Dr Steeden advised that NHS data on GP visits, hospital visits and diagnoses was used in combination with results of specific health monitoring programmes implemented in the borough in response to the fire to allow the Council and health partners to understand the health needs of the population and respond accordingly. Officers added that the Council had engaged with the voluntary and community sector in North Kensington to ensure a comprehensive understanding of health needs was obtained.

2.          Noted the Council had committed to further engagement with residents, partners and community groups to ensure recovery was a community-led coproduction with the Council.

3.          Highlighted the importance of cultural sensitivity and competency in the delivery of health services for minorities affected by the tragedy, for example by offering services in additional languages and non-traditional settings to encourage residents to access the services they need. Officers advised that cultural sensitivity was a key consideration in the commissioning of services to ensure that all services reflected the needs and preferences of the population.

4.          Asked about specific provision available for the bereaved, survivors and affected communities and how residents could access that provision. Dr Steeden stated that a range of services were available in addition to general provision, including extended GP appointments and enhanced testing for smoke inhalation. Members were assured that there was a ‘no wrong door’ approach for those affected by the tragedy and service provision was constantly under review and redesigned according to patient feedback and community engagement. A key area of work was to improve communications on provision for the Grenfell-affected community.

5.          Raised concern that some recommendations outlined in the JSNA to support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Appendix A - NHSE/ICB Immunisations Programmes in RBKC and Appendix B – UKHSA Immunisation Programmes – to follow.

The Chair introduced the item and invited the Lead Member, Council officers and NHS colleagues to speak to the report. Cllr Josh Rendall, Anna Raleigh and Anna Cox were joined by Kevin Driscoll, Susan Elden, Simon Hope, and Dr Naomi Katz. Kevin Driscoll highlighted that the local Integrated Care Board’s main area of focus was on the 20% of the population not presenting for routine vaccinations. The ICB had identified four main areas affecting vaccine uptake: accessibility, ambivalence, misinformation, and religion/ideology; and had developed a North West London plan to improve capacity and stimulate demand through engagement and education opportunities.

The Chair invited the Committee to discuss the report. Members of the Committee:

1.      Discussed the local response to a recent measles outbreak at a school in North Kensington. Dr Naomi Katz provided a breakdown of the steps taken to locate unvaccinated residents to reduce community transmission among vulnerable groups.

2.      Discussed the low coverage of childhood immunisations in RBKC compared to North West London, London as a whole and nationally. In addition to the four main areas affecting vaccine uptake highlighted, members heard that the highly mobile population in RBKC affected how many children were receiving immunisations in line with the prescribed timeline in addition to the NHS’s ability to accurately track immunisation levels.

3.      Welcomed the NWL Pharmacy Pilot, allowing vaccinations at pharmacies, included two sites in the borough and asked how the pilot’s success would be measured. ICB colleagues advised the pilot’s success would be determined by uptake in the community.

4.      Discussed whether the routine childhood immunisation schedule should be amended to reflect higher uptake at older ages.

5.      Asked how the Council and health partners responded to the challenge of ensuring accurate data collection in the face of a highly mobile population. Officers stated that RBKC worked closely with neighbouring Local Authorities and NHS partners to check vaccination records and complete outstanding vaccinations for newly arrived or newly registered residents.

6.      Encouraged health partners to ensure information on immunisations was available in local health settings.

The Chair summarised the discussion and noted the agreed recommendations of the Committee:

RECOMMENDATIONS

To work further to address vaccine hesitancy and scale up any initiatives which can provide increased immunisation coverage, particularly of MMR, to communities in the borough.

The Chair introduced the item and invited the Committee to discuss and agree the work programme.

The Committee AGREED scrutiny priorities for the municipal year as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.