Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A. Hussain and Toor.

There was no urgent items of business for this meeting of this Committee to consider.

There were no public questions for this meeting of the Committee to consider.

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee held on 7^th December 2021 are attached for approval.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee held on 7^th December 2021, be approved as a correct record.

The Committee scrutinised a report of the Director of Public Health which updated Members on the progress made by the Health Improvement and Weight Management Service, Your Health Oldham, delivered by ABL Health Limited, during the last 12 months, further made by the Committee in January 2021.

The Committee were informed that having a high functioning health improvement offer was an essential component of the range of activity required to achieve better health in the local population and to reduce the demand on health and social care services.

‘Your Health Oldham’, delivered by ABL Health Limited, was Oldham’s Health Improvement and Weight Management Service and had commenced delivery in January 2021 following a comprehensive tender process. In this regard representatives from ABL Health (Mr. Raz Mohammed and Mr. Andrew Leslie) attended the meeting to present an update on progress made by the service during its first year.

The Committee was informed that local authorities were responsible for improving the health and wellbeing of their local population and for public health services. There was also a responsibility to reduce health inequalities across the life course, including within hard-to-reach groups, and to ensure the provision of population healthcare advice. As such, statutory duties for public health include the provision of public health advice on obesity and physical activity for both adults and children and smoking and tobacco, including smoking cessation and intervention.

Oldham’s adult population were less physically active, smoked more, and carried more excess weight than the England average.  These unhealthy behaviours meant that Oldham had significantly higher numbers of people with recorded diabetes, and deaths from smoking-related diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer - which were significantly higher than the England average. The major risk factors contributing to mortality are preventable/modifiable with smoking and dietary risks contributing to about one-third of all deaths in Oldham.

Reducing smoking prevalence, levels of obesity and increasing physical activity levels are behavioural risk factors, with strong connections to the wider socio-economic determinants of health, that have the potential to have the biggest impact on the improvement of population health, reduce demand on health and social care services and reduce health inequalities. 

In considering the report Members noted that there were a number of high-level outcomes that the Health Improvement and Weight Management Service were expected to provide (detailed at paragraph 2 of the submitted report), especially in terms of reducing the proportion of adults who smoke, contributing to the reduction in smoking related illnesses and deaths; reducing exposure to passive smoking; reducing the proportion of adults and children in the Borough who are overweight or obese; reducing the numbers of adults and children who are physically inactive; increasing the numbers of residents in the Borough eating a healthy diet; reducing the numbers of adults that have a high ‘vascular risk score’; reducing the number of adults consuming alcohol above recommended limits; and, reducing the level of health inequalities experienced in the borough. The Committee requested that the next report/presentation submitted by ABL Health Limited include  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee scrutinised a report of the Director of Public Health, which detailed the outcome of the collaborative commission with Rochdale and Bury Councils for an Integrated Sexual Health Service and which also provided a progress update on the implementation of arrangements established under the new contract.

Oldham, Rochdale and Bury Councils have worked collaboratively to jointly commission a provider for the provision of a high quality Integrated Sexual Health Service (ISHS) through an open competitive tendering procedure to support population health and meet their mandated responsibilities for open access sexual health services.

Following completion of the tender evaluation processes, the Director of Public Health had delegated authority to Rochdale Council and STAR Procurement to award the contract on behalf of the Council, as per the delegated authority that had previously been approved by Oldham Council’s Cabinet in March 2021, to the provider who submitted the most economically advantageous bid, namely: HCRG Care Group - previously known as Virgin Care Limited.

The specification for the Integrated Sexual Health Service had been revised considerably via collaborative approach at a Greater Manchester level to ensure consistency of provision across the city region and common standards, and at a locality level to ensure that there would be a clear focus on reducing health inequalities by ensuring targeted provision for those individuals who are most at risk of sexual health related harm or poorer sexual health outcomes.

In considering the report the Health Scrutiny Committee were asked to consider whether an update on the first 12 months of delivery of the Integrated Sexual Health Service, including relevant performance management information and contributions towards health outcomes, would be useful and/or if they wish to invite relevant partners and stakeholders from across the Reproductive and Sexual Health system for an in-depth study or further discussion around how to adopt a collaborative approach to improving sexual health outcomes locally.

Resolved:

1.    That the Health Scrutiny Committee notes the collaborative commissioning exercise undertaken by Oldham, Rochdale and Bury Councils and the outcome of the recent tender exercise to procure a provider for the delivery of the Integrated Sexual Health Service.

2.    That the Health Scrutiny Committee commends the new enhanced Integrated Sexual Health Service offer that will contribute to Oldham’s vision of improving the sexual health and wellbeing of the people of Oldham, Rochdale and Bury via delivery of innovative prevention-orientated interventions and responding to the changing health needs of our residents, improving the population’s health and reducing health inequalities.

3.    That the Committee agrees to consider the establishment of a ‘task and finish group’, comprising Committee members and relevant partners and stakeholders from across the Reproductive and Sexual Health system to be convened early in the 2022/23 municipal year, to carry out an in-depth study around the adoption of a collaborative approach to improving sexual health outcomes across the Oldham Borough.

4.    That the Director of Public Health be requested to submit a further update report/presentation to the Committee in approximately 12 months detailing progress of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Resolved:

That consideration of this report be deferred to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee on Tuesday, 8^th March 2022.

Resolved:

That consideration of this report be deferred to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee on Tuesday, 8^th March 2022.

For the Health Scrutiny Committee to review the Committee’s Work Programme for 2021/22.

The Committee received a report inviting consideration of the Committee’s Work Programme for 2021/22 as at December 2021.

Resolved:

That the Health Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme 2021/22 be noted.

The Committee considered the latest Key Decision Document, which set out the Authority’s Key Decisions scheduled to be made from 1^st January 2022.

Resolved:

That the Key Decision Document be noted.