Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ball and Mr Tamoor Tariq (Health Watch Oldham).

There were no public questions to consider.

The Minutes of the Adults Social Care and Health Scrutiny Board held on 7 September 2023 are attached for approval.

Resolved:
That the minutes of the meetings of the Adults Social Care and Health Scrutiny Board held on 7^th September 2023 and on 11^th October 2023 be approved as correct records.

To receive and discuss the Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board: Annual Report 2022-23 (with supporting Single-Agency Statements and Business Plan 2023-2024).

The Independent Chair of the Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board (OAB), Dr Henri Giller presented the Board’s Annual Report. Dr Giller explained that OSAB was a statutory partnership set up to safeguard adults at risk of experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation. As part of its statutory duties the Board was required to produce an Annual Report setting out the safeguarding concerns it has dealt over the last year, as well as a Business Plan setting out future ambitions and actions to help keep people safe in Oldham. The purpose of the report therefore was to share the Board’s agreed 2022-23 Annual Report and 2022-24 Business Plan with members for their consideration.

In considering the report,Members of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Board were asked to consider and comment on the Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board 2022-23 Annual Report and 2023-24 Business Plan.

The role of the OSAB was to assure itself that organisations and agencies across Oldham were working together to protect and enable adults to live safely. This meant helping people to make decisions about the risks they face in their own lives as well as protecting those who lack the capacity to make these decisions.

The Board’s three main statutory duties were to:

•                    Produce a Strategic Business Plan setting out the changes the Board wants to achieve and how organisations will work together.

•                    Publish an Annual Report setting out the safeguarding concerns it has dealt with in the last year as well as plans to keep people safe in the future.

•                    Undertake a Safeguarding Adult Review in line with Section 44 of the Care Act where it believes someone has experienced harm because of abuse, neglect or exploitation.

The Board’s 2022-23 Annual Report provided information on the number and type of safeguarding concerns reported in Oldham along with the actions taken to adopt learning from the Safeguarding Adult Reviews. Central to this had been the collection and sharing of first-hand experiences by adults ‘at risk’ and family members who have experience of safeguarding issues and services in Oldham.

In summary, a total of 2175 safeguarding referrals were made in 2022-23 and of these referrals 430 became the subject of a formal Safeguarding Enquiry. Data showed that the number of referrals received more than doubled compared to the number received in 2018-19 and increased by 16% compared to 2021-22. Some of this increase was due to safeguarding awareness campaigns designed to encourage the residents of Oldham to report their safeguarding concerns and training provided to professionals in Oldham about making safeguarding referrals and the criteria for formal enquiries. However, whilst the number of overall referrals had increased, the number of serious safeguarding enquiries had remained relatively consistent over the last four years.

A total of four Safeguarding Adult Reviews were completed in 2022-23, which was double the number completed the previous year. Common themes emerging from Safeguarding Adult Reviews involved the multi-agency management of risk; Complex and Contextual Safeguarding including cuckooing, financial abuse, and exploitation;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive and discuss Tackling Infant Mortality in Oldham Public Health Annual Report 2022.

The Scrutiny Board received the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report on Infant Mortality in Oldham 2022. The report was an independent view on this highly sensitive matter that was related to health and wellbeing in Oldham and examined what could be done to decrease the mortality rates.

The submitted report had been prepared by the Council’s previous Director of Public Health, Ms Katrina Stephens, and it focused on Infant Mortality and what can be done to decrease the rates in Oldham. The report covered the period from April 2022 to March 2023.

The report had been produced in collaboration with the Council’s relevant colleagues and partners, and it shared experiences of some of the Borough’s residents. It also detailed the most up to date data regarding Infant Mortality in Oldham.

Infant mortality was a recognised indicator of the overall health of a population. Infant mortality had, overall, decreased across England over the past twenty years. Oldham though, had had a higher rate than other areas for many years. Rates of infant mortality could therefore be seen as a major indicator of a borough’s health. Oldham’s infant mortality rate was higher than the Northwest and England rates. Oldham’s most recent rate for 2019 - 2021 was 7.2 per 1,000, making it significantly higher than the national figure of 3.9 per 1,000.

Oldham’s rates of infant mortality had been higher than the regional and national rates for at least the past 20 years. However, over the last few years, Oldham had not seen a reduction in the infant mortality rate, and, in fact, the rate was increasing.

Over the past year, the Council’s Public Health staff had reviewed the local data, the national evidence base and worked with colleagues across Oldham, including the voice of residents. This had led to the creation of the Oldham Tackling Infant Mortality Group and to the agreement of eight priorities, listed below:

1.    Promoting Smoke-free Pregnancies

2.    Reduce the Number of Sudden and Unexpected Deaths of Infants in Oldham (SUDI)

3. Improve Breastfeeding Rates

4. Improve Access to Excellent Maternity Care

5. Reduce Deaths and Severe Disability Related to Consanguinity/Recessive

Autosomal Conditions

6. Support Women to be a Healthy Weight in Pregnancy

7. Supporting Young Parents

8. A Focus on Poverty/Cost of Living The rest of this report will provide detail on each of these priorities and the current work that is happening in Oldham

The report went on to detail six recommendations that were designed to address Oldham’s current situation in relation to Infant Mortality.

a.    That the Council and partners should continue to take steps to improve the cultural competence of maternity services by ensuring the impact of parents’ culture, ethnicity and language is discussed and considered during the antenatal risk assessment process, initial assessment and follow-up.

b.    That professionals who work with families and pregnant women including GPs, midwives, maternity support workers, and neonatal staff, should undertake training on consanguinity and genetic conditions, for example the e-learning for health (eLfH  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive and discuss the Health Inequalities Plan.

The Scrutiny Board received a report of the Interim Director of Public Health, which explained that Borough of Oldham residents experienced many inequalities across the wider determinants of health that contribute collectively to the difference in life expectancy and healthy life expectation. The report advised that in June 2022, Oldham’s Health and Well-being Board had agreed the six themes and associated actions which underpin the local health inequalities plan that was intended to be achieved over a two-year period. The submitted report sought to provide an update on the progress made to date.

Scrutiny Board Members were asked to consider the progress made on the local health inequalities plan.

Oldham Life Expectancy for men was 77.2 years, compared to the national average of 79.4 years (PHOF 2018-20). By contrast, Westminster, in central London, had an average life expectancy of 84.7years. The difference in life expectancy for men, between Alexandra ward (Oldham’s most deprived) and Saddleworth South ward (Oldham’s least deprived) is 12 years.

Oldham Life Expectancy for women is 80.5years compared to the national average of 83.1 years (PHOF 2018-20). By contrast, Kensington and Chelsea, in London, had an average life expectancy for women of 87.9 years The difference in life expectancy between Alexandra ward (most deprived) and Saddleworth South ward (least deprived) is 12.9 years.

The inequalities observed for life expectancy and for healthy life expectancy in Oldham were not just associated with deprivation but were also present between different ethnicities.

In November 2021, the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board discussed the development of a Health Inequalities plan for Oldham. This process took key recommendations from the Greater Manchester review ‘Build Back Fairer: Health Equity and dignified lives’ and GM Independent Health Inequalities Commission report and broadly mirrored the six thematic areas;

·                     Income, Poverty, Housing and Debt

·                     Housing, Transport and Environment

·                     Work and Unemployment

·                     Health in all Policies / Communities and Place

·                     Health and Wellbeing, and Health Services

·                     Children and young people

Each of the six thematic areas was underpinned by a series of actions (a total of 57), and senior sponsor(s) had been assigned. The Health and Wellbeing board had agreed the action plan in June 2022, and that Public Health service at Oldham Council would continue to drive and oversee developments. The inequalities plan was considered achievable over a 2-year period.

A tracker tool had been developed, detailing all the actions and progress of each area within the Health Inequalities plan. Action owners had been invited to review and update the progress made towards each of the actions utilising commentary boxes and RAG (Red/Amber/Green) ratings to provide a visual review of where programmes are on track, stalling or behind.

During the period of September 2022 to March 2023, all six thematic areas were presented as focused reviews to the Health and Wellbeing Board. This allowed for the sharing of good practice across Oldham partnership organisations, an opportunity to accentuate programmes that reduce inequalities and as a system provide a safe place to discuss barriers to delivery.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To Follow

The Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Board’s Work Programme 2023/24 was circulated for Member’s consideration.

Resolved:

That the Work Programme 2023/24 be noted.

The Council’s current published Key Decision Document, advising of key decisions due to be taken by the Council’s Cabinet was circulated for Member’s consideration.

Resolved:

That the Key Decision Document be noted.

To consider any rule 13 or 14 decisions taken since the previous meeting.

The Chair advised that there was nothing to report under this heading.