Agenda item

7.         Health and Wellbeing Board – Membership Revisions

7.1       Salena Mulhere updated the Health and Wellbeing Board on three proposed revisions to the membership of the Board for 2020/21, two of which will be put to the next Council AGM for approval.

7.2       Details of these changes are as follows:

·         Clinical Commissioning Group - According to the Council’s Constitution, composition of the Health and Wellbeing Board is to include one “representative of Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group”. From 1 April 2020, following a merger, there will be a single integrated NHS South East London CCG (SELCCG). As Lewisham CCG will cease to exist after 1st April 2020, this representative will be the Lewisham borough SELCCG representative. In reality it will remain the same person (Dr Faruk Majid). The Council’s Constitution will be updated to reflect this change.

·         Voluntary and Community Sector - Lewisham’s Constitution also states that there should be “other persons as the Council thinks appropriate. This will normally include 2 representatives from the voluntary sector”. At present there is a representative from Voluntary Action Lewisham (VAL) and a representative of the VCS more broadly. Having a VAL representative on the Board was deemed appropriate due to VAL’s function as the umbrella organisation providing capacity-building support for the VCS in Lewisham. However the appropriate Council funding and responsibilities for this function were transferred to Rushey Green Time Bank towards the end of 2019. It is therefore appropriate that the VAL representative should step down to be replaced by a Rushey Green Time Bank representative.

·         NHS England - Lewisham’s Constitution states that the NHS Commission Board (now NHS England) must appoint a representative for the purpose of participating in the development of a joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy if “requested to do so by the Board”. In 2013, the Board requested this representation and the Director of Nursing for South London was nominated and approved. Initially this was Jane Clegg, who attended until May 2015 as a non-voting member. She was due to be replaced by Gwen Kennedy, however there is no record that Gwen Kennedy has actually attended the Health and Wellbeing Board. As there is sufficient coverage from a commissioning perspective across the Board membership, it is proposed that formal NHS England representation be discontinued from 2020/21. This should not have any noticeable impact as there has not been any actual NHS England attendance at the Board for almost five years.

7.3       Whilst the changes to membership detailed above are anticipated to take effect from 1 April 2020, the development of a new Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2021-27) is likely to require further membership revisions. This will be to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and that the appropriate organisations to deliver the strategy objectives are properly represented. It is therefore proposed that a further review of Board membership will be undertaken once the development of the new strategy is completed. This is likely to be at the end of this calendar year at the earliest.

7.4       The following comments and additions were made as part of the discussion by members of the Board and those in attendance:

·         Provider of Healthwatch Lewisham has changed to Your Voice in Health and Social Care (YVHSC).

·         Rushey Green Time Bank to convene election to nominate new VCS rep for the Health and Wellbeing Board.

7.5       Action:

The Board noted the contents of the report.