Issue - meetings

– Update report – Sir Chris Ham

Coventry and Warwickshire’s Health and Wellbeing Boards met as the Place Forum in a joint meeting with the Health and Care Partnership Board on 15^th July 2020.  The meeting was held online via Microsoft Teams and was attended by over 70 people. 

Sir Chris Ham gave a verbal update, noting that many of the items discussed at the last joint meeting had been reported earlier on this agenda. He recognised the great work of health and care services and how they had risen to the many challenges, also the amount of innovation and collaboration between councils and the NHS to respond to the demands faced.

At the Place Forum there had been a discussion on the test and trace programme, and he referred to the work of the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire beacon area. It was perceived this had gone well to date, but the big challenges were yet to come, with reference to the increasing cases in Solihull and in other parts of country, difficulties in getting tests and results and it was expected that positive Covid tests would continue to rise.

He spoke about reinstatement of non-covid NHS services. This was attracting a lot of attention. Aspects were addressing the backlog in diagnostic testing, surgical procedures and mental health services. The public needed to be given confidence they could access NHS services and do this safely. There was a continuing commitment to mutual aid and collaboration, but the challenges ahead could not be underestimated.

The Chair endorsed these comments. Any assistance Sir Chris could provide in lobbying government for more local control and funding to deliver test and trace would be welcomed.

Russell Hardy and Dame Stella Manzie emphasised the work taking place in acute hospitals to reinstate services, the impact of Covid protocols on capacity and the significant challenges in returning to the service levels before Covid. Stella Manzie spoke of the scale of this logistical exercise, providing assurance of the monitoring, infection control and aims to achieve 90% of capacity by October. There were additional challenges for hospitals located in older buildings. Providing services digitally was helpful, but not suitable for all patients.

Sir Chris Ham added that despite Covid-19 the same priorities remained, but it had exposed inequalities in health and emphasised the need for a partnership approach. There needed to be more joined up and integrated care a good example being the collaboration on discharge to assess at the height of the pandemic.

Nigel Minns agreed that whilst priorities were unchanged, some had exacerbated and required a redoubling of effort, a key example being mental health and others had been highlighted, especially health inequalities, which was now a key focus.

Resolved

That the Board notes the outcomes of the joint meeting of the Coventry and Warwickshire Place Forum and Health and Care Partnership Board meeting on 15^th July.