Chair welcomed everyone and gave the webcast notice

Apologies for absence were received from:

·  Councillor Tom Anderson

·  Councillor Kathy Hodson

·  Councillor Amanda Onwuemene

·  Rachel Bennett, Magenta Living

·  Julie Gray, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Trust;

·  Karen Howell for Wirral Community Health Care NHS Trust

·  Paul Satoor, Wirral Council

·  Karen Prior and Kirsteen Shepherd, Healthwatch

·  Mark Thomas, Merseyside Fire and rescue

·  Simone White, Wirral Council

Members of the Board are asked whether they have any personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any application on the agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

There were no declarations of interests.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 2 November 2022.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board on 2 November 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

No questions, statements or petitions were received.

The Children’s Centre Operational Manager introduced the report of the Director of Child, Family and Education which provided an update of Early Years partnership work relating to: Early Years Strategy; First 1001 Days Programme; and Link to the Family Hubs initiative. The report detailed the organisational, structural and partnership activity undertaken over the previous 18 months.

Koala North West (KNW) and Foundation Years Trust (FYT) worked with the Council and NHS to collectively apply for funding to create Wirral’s 1001 First Days programme to improve integration between services offered for families of children between 0 – 2 years, providing a seamless offer which families could easily navigate. The bid was successful and representatives of the two organisations were present to help present the report.

The 1001 first days programme was to provide the foundation for the development of Family Hubs in Wirral to ensure access and inclusion, broaden and cement relationships and align and connect services.

The Chair thanked the partners for the work they had done and Members noted that there would be further feedback on progress. and that the work was crucial to the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Chair noted that in the recommendations the correct title of the sector was the Voluntary, Community Faith and Social Enterprise sector (VCFSE) and the recommendation would be amended to reflect this.

Resolved: That

(1)  the progress made in integrated working across Early Childhood Services, Public Health and Wirral’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector (VCFSE), including the Early Years Strategy be noted and endorsed; and

(2)  future updates on outcomes of the Early Years Strategy and Family Hubs be provided.

The PDF files below may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices.

Please contact jennifersmedley@wirral.gov.uk if you would like this document in an accessible format.

The Place Director (Wirral), NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, presented his report which provided an update on the development of Wirral as a “Place” within the Integrated Care System (ICS) and of the working arrangements of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside in the borough. Most recently available meeting minutes were included. Progress on the development of the Health and Care Partnership Strategy were noted, and members were informed that the Strategy was to be approved on 17 January 2023, with Wirral’s submission being based upon the information contained in the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2027 and Outcomes Framework. 

Resolved - That 

(1)  this report be noted and similar updates be received at future meetings.

(2)  the minutes of the Wirral Place Based Partnership Board held on 13th October 2022 be noted.

(3)  the Wirral submission for the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership Strategy be noted which, when ratified, will be brought to a future meeting.

The PDF files below may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices.

Please contact jennifersmedley@wirral.gov.uk if you would like this document in an accessible format.

The representative from the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service presented the report of the Director of Prevention at the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. The Service existed to Protect, Prevent and Respond. In relation to Prevention, the Service committed to undertake 60,000 home safety visits every year – 9,000 in Wirral – and had several areas of prevention which it contributed toward. It was very aware of the connection between fire, health and deprivation and when fire fatalities were at a peak in 2015/2016 they changed their approach to focus on prevention including considering trends and detailed data to identify areas and lifestyle factors to target, including receiving direct referrals for individuals who could be contacted for a fire safety check.

Members praised the approach taken and asked about detail of the tackling of different aspects and lifestyles such as hospital discharges.

Resolved: That the contents of this report be noted.

The Senior Public Health Manager for Healthier Lives introduced this report which provided a summary of the work undertaken to date on tobacco control and the challenges that remained. Smoking had been noted as a significant contributor to health inequalities and good long-term progress had been made in reducing smoking rates in Wirral. However, smoking rates remain highest among some of the most disadvantaged groups. The report also provided a response to the recently published independent Khan Review with a proposal to review local priorities and processes.

Members praised the work done to date and noted related ongoing issues such as addiction, cost and vaping.

Resolved: That:

(1)  the good progress made in reducing smoking prevalence in Wirral be noted but it be recognised that we need to go further in order to address inequalities in smoking rates within the Borough.

(2)  the Khan review and its recommendations to refresh the Wirral Tobacco Control action plan be utilised with all members committing to contribute to this work and to nominate a representative to take this forward.

(3)  the refreshed Wirral Tobacco Control plan be received for sign off once developed.

Representatives of the Community, Voluntary and Faith Sector Reference Group (CVFRG). Presented this report which provided the latest updates and proposals from the Reference Group. Three documents - The Community Hub Handbook; The Connected Society; and A Community - Powered NHS, Making Prevention a Reality – were to be the main documents used to inform the delivery of the prototypes, the formation of partnerships and the transformations at community level. The CVFRG had been involved in the formation of a Transformation and Partnership Steering Group, with appropriate representation from Wirral Council, Wirral NHS and the CVFRG. It was noted that the workers for CVFRG were volunteers. The representatives spoke of the health value of green space infrastructure including some planned community gardens and there were seven pilot social prescribing projects to enable people to have health benefits from the gardens.

Resolved: That the contents of the attached reports be noted, and the continued development of the programmes for engagement with communities and residents be supported.

The Director of Public Health introduced this report which provided an update from actions undertaken by the Cost-of-Living Action Group to address the impact of the increase in cost of living on residents and businesses in the Borough.

The Chair commended the work done as there was political will, partnership working and commitment on all sides.

Resolved: That: -

(1)   the actions completed by the Cost-of-Living Action Group in addressing cost of living challenges in the borough be noted.

(2)   all partners participate in the Keep Wirral Well communications programme and promote Wirral Infobank and warm hubs both to their clients and employees as part of their Anchor Institution work as detailed in the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The PDF files below may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices.

Please contact jennifersmedley@wirral.gov.uk if you would like this document in an accessible format.

The Associate Director for Transformation and Partnerships presented this report which proposed a refreshed model to tackle inequalities in communities. It was to use dashboards to track statistics on population health and outcomes for particular neighbourhoods matched with local intelligence. The proposed model was for a steering group then each neighbourhood have nine core groups with organisation representatives.

Members noted that the approach was an infrastructure shift with primary care needs aligned with the communities they served.

Resolved: That the proposed model for neighbourhoods and the proposed programme and associated timeline be noted.

The Head of Legal Services presented this report which recommended a co-option to the Board of representatives from the Wirral Chamber of Commerce as a supporter of businesses as part of the delivery of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Wirral Plan to support inequalities. The co-option would be non-voting and focussed on assisting the board to deliver the Health & Wellbeing Strategy.

Resolved: That a representative from Wirral Chamber of Commerce be Co-opted onto the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Members considered the work programme for the remainder of the Municipal Year. The Chair requested that the Partnership Summits should continue following a successful initial event.  

Resolved: That the proposed Health and Wellbeing Board work programme for the remainder of the 2022/23 municipal year be noted.