Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting were agreed as a true record.

RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting were agreed as a true record.

No interests were declared.

No interests were declared.

RESOLVED: that the M&C response to the committee’s referral on the adult social care review be noted and an update received at the next meeting.

Tom Brown (Executive Director for Community Services) introduced the Mayor & Cabinet response to the committee’s referral on the adult social care review. The following key points were noted:

1.1  It is recognised that the programme for adult social care is ambitious, but if done well it will deliver better outcomes for residents. It is also important that the council is in conversations with people who use services and their carers.

1.2  It is important too that scrutiny has sight of developments and it is proposed that regular updates are brought to this committee. The Chair will also be invited to regular briefings in between the select committee meeting cycle.

RESOLVED: that the M&C response to the committee’s referral on the adult social care review be noted and an update received at the next meeting.

RESOLVED: that the annual report be noted and that the committee will receive further information on the respondents to the annual survey.

Professor Michael Preston-Shoot (Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Board, Chair) introduced the report and the following key points were noted:

1.1  The Board has met virtually since March 2020 and has increased the frequency of meetings in order for the board to be assured that adult safeguarding was working effectively in Lewisham.

1.2  The council and its partners have worked effectively throughout the pandemic to safeguard adults at risk of abuse and neglect and the board will continue to scrutinise adult safeguarding in the context of the pandemic.

1.3  One of the boards main priorities is to continue to engage as much as possible with different communities and to hear the voices of lived experience. This is being done through a variety of means, including through members surgeries and neighbourhood teams.

1.4  The board is also very keen to understand why there is some disproportionality in the adult safeguarding statistics and endeavours to raise awareness of safeguarding throughout different communities via community, voluntary and faith organisations.

1.5  Following the deaths of three people in a private mental health hospital in Norfolk the board has also sought assurance from directors of adult social care about the scrutiny of out of borough placements. And this will remain a priority for the board.

1.6  It was noted that safeguarding reviews often make recommendations on how services work together. Recent reviews have highlighted issues relating to hospital discharge, homelessness and missing persons.

1.7  Many of the issues identified are, in part, structural and not unique to Lewisham. A decade of financial austerity has also impacted on resources at a time with health and care are having to deal with an increasing number of cases of increasing complexity.

1.8  The board has had good engagement with organisations in the borough and will look forward to engaging with others such as the Disabled People’s Commission.

1.9  The committee asked for more detail on who responded to the board’s annual survey and the Chair of the adult safeguarding board agreed to provide this after the meeting.

RESOLVED: that the annual report be noted and that the committee will receive further information on the respondents to the annual survey.

RESOLVED: that the update be noted and that the committee receive further information on the nature of the research being carried out by the review.

Catherine Mbema (Director of Public Health) introduced the report and the following key points were noted:

1.1  In May 2020 Lewisham partnered with Birmingham City Council in order to generate some concrete opportunities for action to tackle health inequalities among the black African and Caribbean communities.

1.2  The partnership includes two boards: an external advisory board made up of members of the community from Birmingham and Lewisham, and an external academic board made up of a number of national academics.

1.3  A number of themes to review were identified. The academic board identified any gaps in the available evidence and priority areas in which action could be proposed. This would then be passed to the external advisory board for their opinion of which actions would be worthwhile.

1.4  A number of opportunities for action have been identified for each of the review themes and the aim is to collate these into a report back to the Health and Wellbeing Board in March 2022.

1.5  Intersectionality has come up in almost every review theme and may also appear in some of the opportunities for action.

1.6  The members of the academic advisory board come from a range of institutions in Birmingham and London.

1.7  In terms of opportunities for action the evidence base has largely been around the role of culture and the impact on subsequent health behaviours such as diet and physical activity. A number of examples suggested co-producing interventions using cultural hubs like faith groups and faith communities.

RESOLVED: that the update be noted and that the committee receive further information on the nature of the research being carried out by the review.

RESOLVED: that the work programme be agreed with the addition of an update on proposals for the Ladywell Unit to be scheduled in.

The Chair asked for the committee to receive a report on the proposals for the Ladywell Unit.

RESOLVED: that the work programme be agreed with the addition of an update on proposals for the Ladywell Unit to be scheduled in.