Agenda and minutes

To consider and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 July, 2023, as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

Resolved:-

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 July 2023 be approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

The Chair confirmed that no questions had been submitted.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

The Chair confirmed that there was no reason to exclude members of the public or press from observing the discussion of any item of business on the agenda.

To consider an update presentation on suicide prevention work in Rotherham.

Consideration was given to an update presentation in respect of suicide prevention work in the Borough, presented by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health and Consultant in Public Health. The presentation described how over the past year the Borough had seen a reduction in suicide rates for men in Rotherham, which brought the rate for Rotherham statistically similar to the national average. The rates for women had not decreased, however, since the last report in September 2022. The rates for women in the South Yorkshire and Humber region had increased, which was an area of concern. Rotherham’s overall position had improved when compared to statistically similar neighbours. The presentation noted that government had recently announced voluntary sector grants for suicide prevention work. The Service would work with the voluntary sector partners to support grant applications.

The presentation illustrated how the Service responded to risk factors with task and finish groups and how this focus is led by real time data provided by the South Yorkshire surveillance system that is coordinated by South Yorkshire Police. This system is a replication across South Yorkshire of good practice that originated in Rotherham. Bereavement support to families throughout South Yorkshire continued to be delivered through the Amparo Service, which would soon be recommissioned as it was nearing the end of the contract term. This Service going forward would be an all-age service. Monitoring of trends information provided by the coroner informed the local action plan. Sessions with the media and work with a group in Doncaster had been done to look at work within prisons.

South Yorkshire local authorities, Chilipep, Amparo, and South Yorkshire Police entered the Local Government Chronicle awards and won in the category for public partnership. The toolkit app they developed was seen as a scalable resource that can be used elsewhere. This was the first time a resource had been designed by speaking with young people about what would help support them when they are bereaved by suicide. This toolkit had been sent out to all colleges, schools, childcare providers, early help, and to the NHS.

In discussion, Members sought further insight regarding men who were previously unknown to services and those who were known to services but who may not have been sufficiently reached by them. Members requested assurances that early intervention was an approach being taken system-wide, as there were concerns that waiting times for therapies to nonmedical treatment could result in increased reliance on primary care. The response from the Consultant in Public Health described work to get the messaging right for men in particular in their 40s and 50s. Three men’s talking groups were active across the borough. It was known that some individuals were not even registered with a GP, particularly from Eastern European communities. This presented a challenge to their knowing how they can access services. The emphasis was on collective responsibility and getting people trained to provide that initial support which was very important to accessing services. Suicide Prevention  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To consider a presentation on the actions being taken in preparation for regulatory inspection of adult social care services.

Consideration was given to a presentation by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health and the Head of Localities which outlined the plans and progress made in respect of the Adult Social Care Service in preparedness for regulation. The Cabinet member outlined the introduction of a new regulatory framework including a new inspection regime for adults which had come into effect amid nation-wide challenges in respect of staff retention and recruitment within an underfunded sector that is experiencing increasing demand on services. As the pilot phases of the inspection regime were being implemented, the Service garnered additional learning and intelligence that informed the preparations. The current picture was outlined, including zero people on the care home waiting list and a significant reduction in the number of people awaiting assessment. The Service had also recently been awarded a mental health concordat as an exemplar of excellence. The Service had developed a plan for self-assessment and peer review which would be implemented in the run up to regulation, which involved taking account of areas which were good and where improvements could be made.

In discussion, members sought additional details around how the service is linked up with other services. The Cabinet Member considered that this was part of listening well to people’s voices and preferences, and there was now strong co-production work, but there was more work to do in this area.

Members were intrigued by the adoption of a similar test to the NHS ‘friends and family test’ and sought additional information about how this would be implemented. The response from the Head of Localities explained that a pilot was active which utilised an automated text option, but other options were used where there are accessibility preferences. Further details regarding good practice were sought and provided for reference by the Deputy CEO of TRFT. The response from the Deputy CEO noted that there were numerous ways of doing this, for example, volunteers could sit down with patients to go through the questions, or the CQC can write out to patients who write back with their response. This was felt to be very powerful information. As a further example, a Google search for ‘TRFT friends and family’ would return the questions that were asked by the Trust.

Members requested to know more how the rating system would work. The Cabinet Member noted the range of possible ratings. During the first tranche, there were no ratings given. The Cabinet Member aimed for the Service to be rated ‘good’, noting the significant improvement journey of the Service over the last eight years. The Cabinet Member noted that more knowledge around how the process will work gives the Service more insight into how to prepare well to achieve the desired outcome.

Members sought additional information on how the Service had performed in the self-assessment, and how the inspection process could involve participation by Councillors. The first pilot was a reduced version, however, in phase two there would be questions asked of Councillors. There  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To consider and approve an updated outline schedule of scrutiny work and to note the refreshed Terms of Reference for the South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (SYDN JHOSC).

Consideration was given to an updated outline schedule of scrutiny work for the remainder of the municipal year 2023-24, and to the updated terms of reference of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which were received for information.

Resolved:-

1.    That the outline work programme be noted.

2.    That the Governance Advisor be authorised to make changes to the work programme in consultation with the Chair/Vice Chair and reporting any such changes back at the next meeting for endorsement.

3.    That the updated Terms of Reference of the South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted, reflecting the Chair of Health Select Commission as representative on the committee with the Vice Chair as Deputy.

To consider any item(s) which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair advised that there were no urgent matters requiring a decision at the meeting.

The next meeting of the Health Select Commission will be held on 16 November, 2023, commencing at 5.00 pm in Rotherham Town Hall. 

Resolved:-

The next scheduled meeting of Health Select Commission will be held on 16 November 2023, commencing at 5pm in Rotherham Town Hall.