Agenda and minutes

To consider and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 31 July 2025 as a true and correct record of the proceedings and to be signed by the Chair.

Resolved:-

That the minutes of the meeting held on 31 July 2025 were 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.

The following declarations of interest were made:-

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

There were no questions from members of the public or press.

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

There were no items on the agenda that required the exclusion of the press or members of the public.

This item is to receive a report and presentation providing an update in relation to how the Moving Rotherham Partnership is using grant funding secured to improve health across the borough through physical activity.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Baker-Rogers, Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health and Gilly Brenner, Public Health to the meeting and invited Councillor Baker-Rogers to introduce the report and presentation.

The Cabinet Member, Adult Care and Health established the recommendations from the report and underlined the importance of increasing physical activity in terms of impact on population health in the context of lower than national average physical activity levels within the Borough.

They explained that the funding secured reflected a small part of overarching partnership work, which aimed to improve engagement, encourage system learning and embed physical activity within Rotherham’s communities in a meaningful and sustainable way.

The presentation, led by the Public Health Consultant, centred on the Sport England Place Expansion Programme and its implementation in Rotherham through the Moving Rotherham Partnership.

They explained that the rationale for Rotherham’s selection as a Place Expansion area was twofold. Firstly, the Borough faced some of the poorest health outcomes in the country, with high levels of physical inactivity, long-term ill-health, and entrenched health inequalities. Almost one in three adults in Rotherham were inactive, doing less than 30 minutes of exercise or physical activity per week, and inactivity was disproportionately concentrated in areas of deprivation and amongst people with long-term conditions and disabilities.

Secondly, Rotherham had demonstrated strong readiness for collaborative work. The Moving Rotherham Partnership was already well-established, and the Borough had a reputation for effective cross-sector collaboration, which made it an ideal candidate for Sport England’s investment in systemic change. The programme was not intended to deliver isolated interventions but to embed physical activity into the fabric of everyday life within Rotherham’s communities. Sport England’s emphasis on system change meant transforming environments, services, and community engagement in a coordinated way.

The Public Health Consultant outlined that the development grant awarded in April 2025, following Cabinet approval in March, enabled the Council and its partners to increase capacity and begin implementing a whole system approach. An action plan was developed to track progress and align partner activities with the programme’s goals and the initiative was aligned with national strategies such as the NHS Long-Term Plan, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Get Active Strategy, and local frameworks including the Rotherham Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

They described that the programme was structured around five strategic aims, the first of which focused on strategy and coordination. Partners were brought together under a shared vision, and a data and research officer was appointed to support evidence-based decision-making. This role involved gathering insight from communities and analysing data to inform future planning, including a bid for a main award in spring 2026. Systems leadership was also promoted, encouraging organisations to understand their roles in promoting physical activity and to work collaboratively.

The second aim was to increase physical activity across the population. This involved improving access to information and opportunities, ensuring that residents knew what activities were available and how to participate. A system leaders’ group and the Big Active Network were established to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

This item is to receive a the TRFT Annual Report and a supporting presentation which highlights areas of particular interest for the Health Select Commission, and to assist it to identify areas of TRFT’s work that it would like to consider in more detail.

The Chair welcomed Bob Kirton, Managing Director, Helen Dobson, Chief Nurse, and Dr Mike Richmond, TRFT Board Chair to the meeting and invited the Managing Director to introduce the report and presentation.

The Managing Director, TRFT noted that the annual report had been launched at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting the previous week. They explained that whilst the full presentation at that meeting had included around 80 slides, a condensed version was presented to the Health Select Commission, which focussed on key highlights from the past year.

The Managing Director, TRFT expressed gratitude to all TRFT staff who had contributed to delivering safe care to patients and the public of Rotherham. They emphasised the Trust’s pride in its achievements and its commitment to continuous improvement. Amongst notable accomplishments was the Trust’s strong performance in research and clinical audit. Over 3,000 patients had been recruited into research studies, more than 200 local clinical audits had been reviewed, and the Trust had participated in 95% of national clinical audits and 100% of eligible national confidential inquiries.

Innovative projects were highlighted, including the use of virtual reality goggles during operations to improve patient experience, which had yielded positive outcomes. Another initiative involved the use of an orthopaedic robot to assist with precise limb movements during surgery. The Trust was also exploring the acquisition of a robot for abdominal procedures, commonly used in teaching hospitals, and was preparing a case to secure national funding for this.

Significant progress had been made in the area of learning from deaths and serious incidents. The Trust had minimised delays in death registrations and expanded the medical examiner service to include community deaths. Families had responded positively to being contacted by the medical examiner’s office, and the service had maintained high scrutiny completion rates for all deaths within the Trust.

The Chief Nurse presented workforce developments. They confirmed the appointment of the Trust’s first Director of Midwifery, which was a joint post with Barnsley Hospital, aimed at strengthening maternity services which had come under significant national scrutiny. The Trust had also appointed its first Chief Allied Health Professional, representing nine of the fifteen allied health professions within the organisation, ensuring their voices were heard at senior levels.

The Chief Nurse also reported record recruitment of registered nurses for two consecutive years, primarily from the local population through partnerships with local universities. This proactive approach had allowed the Trust to anticipate and fill workforce gaps, particularly in preparation for winter pressures. In autumn alone, 100 new recruits were being onboarded. Retention efforts had also been successful, with nursing turnover reduced from 13.5% to 8% over three years. Specialty areas such as maternity and children’s nursing were fully staffed with no workforce gaps.

They explained that the Trust had also invested in improving patient experience. Initiatives included a wheelchair hub to address accessibility issues, and a bespoke complaints training tool modelled on a Monopoly board to help staff resolve concerns in real time. There was also the “This Is Me”  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

This item is to receive a report and presentation in relation to the Safeguarding Adults Board Strategic Plan 2025-2028, in order to assist the Commission to identify aspects it may wish to consider in more detail during that period. 

This item had previously been considered by the Improving Lives Select Commission, and was brought under the Health Select Commission’s remit under changes to the constitution in the 2025/26 municipal year.

The Chair welcomed Moira Wilson, Rotherham Safeguarding Adults Board (RSAB) Independent Chair and Jackie Scantlebury, Safeguarding Adult Board Manager to the meeting and invited them to introduce the report and presentation.

The RSAB Independent Chair presented the new three-year strategic plan, as required under the Care Act. They began by emphasising that the plan was designed to span the three years, allowing for phased implementation rather than immediate delivery of all objectives. The strategic plan had been developed collaboratively during a partnership development session held in January, ensuring that the priorities reflected a multi-agency consensus.

Five key priorities were identified for the 2023–2026 period:

1. Communication, Engagement and Voice

The board placed this as its top priority and recognised the importance of hearing directly from individuals with lived experience of safeguarding issues, as well as carers.

It was acknowledged that challenges had previously been encountered in this area, and the Board was committed to improving its responsiveness and inclusivity. Elected members were invited to play a vital role in this process by feeding back safeguarding concerns raised by constituents, reinforcing their position as community connectors.

2. Prevention and Early Intervention

The second priority focused on proactive safeguarding, supporting individuals to feel protected from abuse or neglect before issues arose. The strategic plan included detailed actions aimed at embedding early intervention approaches across partner organisations.

3. Leadership and Partnership

The Board reaffirmed its commitment to strong multi-agency collaboration. The Independent Chair expressed pride in the breadth of representation, which included the local authority, police, health commissioners and providers, the voluntary sector, fire and rescue services, and probation. The Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health was noted as a key member of the Board. The presentation stressed that safeguarding adults could not be achieved in isolation and that continued partnership development was essential.

4. Making Safeguarding Personal

This long-standing principle was reaffirmed as a core objective. The Board aimed to ensure that safeguarding practices remained person-centred across all organisations. Plans were in place to audit how well this approach was embedded, how it was experienced by individuals, and how it could be strengthened further.

5. Learning and Development

The final priority addressed the need for ongoing training across the system. The Board recognised the importance of maintaining a robust multi-agency training offer, tailored to different levels of responsibility from general awareness for all staff to specialist safeguarding roles. Given the natural turnover of personnel, the Board committed to ensuring that safeguarding knowledge remained current and widespread.

The RSAB Independent Chair concluded by noting that an action plan and tracking tool would underpin the strategy, assigning key actions to relevant subgroups and enabling progress monitoring.

The Chair thanked the RSAB Independent Chair for the report and presentation and committed the Health Select Commission Members to posing questions in relation to the strategy at a forthcoming Health Select Commission meeting at which the RSAB Annual Report was also due to be heard.

To consider the Health Select Commission’s work programme for 2024/25.

Resolved:-

That the Health Select Commission:

1.    Approved the work programme.

2.    Agreed that the Governance Advisor was authorised to make any required changes to the work programme in consultation with the Chair/Vice Chair and report any such changes back to the next meeting.

To receive and consider the minutes and recommendations of the South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair advised members that the next South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) was due to take place on 21 October 2025. 

They requested that members reviewed the agenda for this meeting once published, and contacted the Chair  and Governance Advisor regarding any questions or comments to be raised during that meeting.

The Chair also requested that Health Select Commission Members who had comments, queries or questions they would like to discuss further in relation to the JHOSC minutes included in the agenda pack channel these via the Chair and Governance Advisor.

This item is to ensure that the Health Select Commission are sighted on the contents of the Adult Social Care ‘How Did We Do?’ Local Account.

The Chair requested that Health Select Commission Members who had comments, queries or questions they would like to discuss further in relation to the Adult Social Care ‘How Did We Do?’ Local Account channel these via the Chair and Governance Advisor.

This item it to ensure that the Health Select Commission are sighted on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Chair requested that Health Select Commission Members who had comments, queries or questions they would like to discuss further in relation to the Health and Wellbeing Strategy channel these via the Chair and Governance Advisor.

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

No urgent business was formally raised by the Chair during the meeting. However, the Chair wished to formally acknowledge the valuable contributions made by Scott Matthewman whilst supporting the Health Select Commission in the role of Link Officer, and to formally welcome Emily Parry-Harries to that role following her appointment as the Director of Public Health.