Agenda and minutes

There were no Declarations of Interest made at the meeting.

No questions had been received in advance of the meeting and there were no members of the public or press in attendance at the meeting.

There were no communications to bring to the Board’s attention.

Arising from Minute No. 11 (Better Care Fund), Bob Kirton raised the issue of how the TRFT could become involved in the discussions for the allocation of funds for the next financial year.

Chris Edwards replied that it would be the annual budget setting process where partners could help in the check and challenge. 

Resolved:-   That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25th June, 2025, be approved as a true record.

Lorna Quinn, Public Health Intelligence Principal, and Alex Hawley, Interim Director of Public Health, to present

Alex Hawley, Public Health Consultant, Public Health, presented the Director of Public Health 2025 annual report which had focussed on creative health within the Borough and how arts, creativity and culture could be used to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Rotherham.

The following powerpoint presentation was also shown in conjunction with the report:-

Background

-        In 2025 Rotherham became the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture (CCoC) holding a year long festival of celebration

-        The journey to this celebration year started in 2017 with the Embassy for Reimagining Rotherham where young people created a vision for Rotherham’s future

-        CCoC was not only about increasing engagement with the arts, culture and creativity but harnessing the engagement to improve the life chances of Rotherham’s children and young people

-        Building on the momentum of this celebration year, the Director of Public Health’s annual report had explored the role that culture and creativity could play in the health and wellbeing of children and young people

Why is art, culture and creativity important for children and young people’s health

-        Children and young people aged 19 and under made up 23.5% of Rotherham’s population

-        Creative health meant working with creativity, arts and/or culture to support health and wellbeing.  This could include lots of activities such as drama, art, film or writing

-        For children and young people, doing cultural and creative things could help with social skills, physical health and mental health

-        Teenagers who did art activities outside of school were less likely to do things which could harm their health such as smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs

-        Lots of children and young people struggled with their mental health; creative health could help if included as part of mental health support

What matters to young people in Rotherham?

-    Children and young people have said

·        They want to feel proud of where they lived

·        They wanted more fun things to do in Rotherham

·        There were quite a few different things that young people worried about including education, mental health, social media and body image

·        Some young people did not feel happy with more Year 10s than Year 7s saying their mental was fair or poor

·        Spending time with friends and family was very important to children and young people with many saying this was the most important thing to them

-        The DPH report was therefore split into the 4 CCoC themes which encompassed the above

You’re not from New York City you’re from Rov’rum

-        Feeling like you belong helped you to feel happier and could make you healthier

-        Being involved in arts and creative pursuits could help young people to get better grades even in subjects that were not related to arts or culture

Who we are, where we come from

-        Health in Rotherham was generally worse than the average for England and this was partly due to some people in Rotherham eating unhealthily, smoking and drinking alcohol.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Rachel Copley, Public Health Practitioner, to provide update on the progress of the Healthy Homes Plan

Rachel Copley, Public Health Practitioner, presented a briefing on the Healthy Homes Plan which sat within Aim 4 of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The proposed Plan would be an annually refreshed document outlining the significance of poor housing on health and wellbeing in Rotherham and the key steps being taken to improve the housing sector.

The following powerpoint presentation illustrated the purpose of the Plan:-

What is the Healthy Homes Plan?

-        Collaboration between Housing and Health Directorates using data that indicates the impact of poor housing on health and outlines the importance of cross-sector action to tackle this issue

Main sections of the Plan

-        Current Housing and Health Strategies

-        Local demographic and housing data

-        Health risks in housing

-        Available support

-        The action plan

Plan Content:  Current Housing and Health Data in Rotherham

-        Rotherham housing data – total dwellings 122,000 (approximately)

15.30% private rented

64% owner-occupied

20.70% Council housing

-        Rotherham Demographics

      Population – 270,000

      Deprivation – 35^th most deprived local authority

      Life expectancy has decreased

      Rotherham has higher rates of Asthma, Heart Disease, Stroke, Lung Cancer and MSK issues

Action Plan – split into 3 themes

1.      Intelligence and evidence gathering

2.      Reducing fuel poverty in Rotherham

3.      Increasing support and assistance to tackle housing related health risks

The full version of the document and action plan was attached as an appendix to the report submitted and would be published on the Rotherham Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Housing page.

The action plan would be a regular agenda item on the Rotherham Energy Network meetings which were held every 6 weeks with any major changes to the action plan or full document submitted to the Public Health and Housing Strategic Management Teams.

Discussion ensued with the following issues highlighted/raised:-

-        The plan was refreshed annually and hosted on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment website

-        A paragraph could be added to the report with regard to poverty, overcrowded housing and increasing levels of children in poverty

-        Housing was the one area that the Health Service’s portfolio and the wider determinants had the less impact.  Was there anything the NHS could do to change this?

-        In discussions regarding the neighbourhood pilot, Housing had expressed potential interest in the Health Hub

-        South Yorkshire Children and Young People Alliance was doing a lot of work in terms of children with Asthma.  Was there an opportunity to link that up?

-        TRFT to evaluate what could be delivered in people’s homes with the aim of the traditional hospital work being conducted within the home setting as well as in the hospital

-        A range of respiratory conditions contributed to the low age expectation in the Borough.  Working with the Fire Service and other agencies around health and wealth checks and checking on the domestic environment  would be a good showcase of neighbourhood working

-        The Housing Strategy should be shared widely to give the opportunity for an understanding of the challenge within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Amelia Thorp, Public Health Specialist, to provide update on progress of the Tobacco Control Programme

Amelia Thorp, Public Health Specialist, provided an update on measures being taken locally to improve tobacco control with the aid of the following powerpoint presentation:-

Why prioritise tobacco control

-        Smoking was the leading cause of preventable and early deaths in the UK and Rotherham

-        Smoking was the greatest contributor to the total burden of disease in Rotherham

-        Smoking rates in Rotherham > all England (14.5% vs 11.6%)

-        Smoking was the single largest driver of health inequalities locally and nationally

National Timeline

-        Government Commitment

In 2019 the Government made a commitment to make England Smokefree by 2030

Smokefree defined as <5% prevalence

-        The Khan Review

Published 2022

Independent review into the Government’s smokefree ambition

Recommendations:-

·        Increase investment

·        Increase age of sale

·        Offer vapes as a substitute for smoking

·        Prioritise prevention in the NHS

-        Stopping the Start

Government plan to create a smokefree generation

Launched 2023

Aimed to address Khan review recommendations

Included launch of Swap to Stop and Smoking in Pregnancy Incentives Schemes

-        Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Introduced to House of Commons in 2024

Proposes:

·        Increasing age of sale of tobacco products

·        Ban on display and advertising of vapes

·        Expand smokefree measures to some outdoor settings

·        Strengthen enforcement activity

Local Timeline

-        An Internal Audit and Health Needs Assessment was undertaken in 2022 resulting in the establishment of the Rotherham Tobacco Control Steering Group and development of a 3 year multi-partner tobacco control workplan

Local Achievements

-        Launch of a new Community Stop Smoking Service in October 2023

-        Implementation of national schemes including Swap to Stop and Smoking in Pregnancy Incentives

-        Embedded hospital provision of specialist stop smoking services for patients at TRFT and RDaSH

-        Expansion of tobacco treatment services to all staff at TRFT and RDaSH

-        The development of a dashboard of indicators to enable meaningful tracking of progress against the strategy and work plan

-        The development of a Rotherham Position Statement on Vapes

Local Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant (LSSSSG)

-        Launched alongside the Government’s plan in 2023 with ringfenced funding to support an additional 360,000 people to quit smoking nationally

-        Rotherham was allocated £384,845 for 2024/25, similar amount (to be confirmed annually) each year through to 2028/29

Local Impact

-        Supported the delivery of a Local Enhanced Service (LES) including training of staff in primary care to identify, triage and offer stop smoking interventions

-        Initially targeted to focus on high-prevalence and high risk groups with capacity to expand in future

-        Funding also set aside to support additional capacity in the Community Stop Smoking Service

South Yorkshire Tobacco Control Alliance (SYTCA)

-        Collaborative partnership between the four local authorities within South Yorkshire and the ICB and wider partners from the public, private and voluntary sector aiming to collectively accelerate our efforts in eliminating smoking across our region and contribute to the achievement of making South Yorkshire Smokefree by 2030

South Yorkshire Campaign

-        Development of the South Yorkshire Brand “Smokefree Starts” in 2023  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

Alex Hawley, Public Health Consultant/CDOP Chair, to present the Child Death Overview Panel Annual Report

Alex Hawley, Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) Chair, and Jean Summerfield, Lead Nurse Child Death Review, presented the CDOP annual report 1^st April, 2024 to 31^st March, 2025.

The powerpoint presentation highlighted:-

Foreword and Context

-        First standalone Rotherham CDOP report

-        Transitioned oversight from Safeguarding Children Partnership to Health and Wellbeing Board

-        Administrative support now provided by Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

-        Tribute to Sharon Pagin and welcome to Jean Summerfield

-        South Yorkshire CDOP having less frequent meetings

-        Backlog of cases reduced despite organisational changes

CDOP Purpose and Structure

-        The Panel included RMBC – Public Health and Social Care; TRFT – Safeguarding, Paediatrics, Midwifery; South Yorkshire Police; RDaSH; ICB; Children’s Hospice

-        Statutory function to review deaths of children (under 18 years) excluding stillbirths and planned terminations

-        To categorise cause of death

-        To consider the importance/relevance of factors present within 4 key domains – factors intrinsic to the child; factors in social environment including family and parenting capacity; factors in the physical environment and factors in service provision

-        To identify modifiable factors and prevent opportunities

-        To update the National Child Mortality Database

-        To share learning and take whatever improvement actions were identified within the system to prevent future deaths or reduce vulnerabilities

South Yorkshire CDOP Network

-        Covered Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield

-        Enabled identification of regional themes and trends

-        Pragmatic shift in 2024 and was now a community of interest with less frequent meetings

-        Still valuable for shared learning and data comparison

Rotherham CDOP 2024-25

-        8 meetings held (2 additional to reduce backlog)

-        29 cases reviewed (20 deaths in 2024/25)

-        22 active cases ongoing (delays due to inquests, reports, investigations)

-        Age distribution – highest in neonates (0-27 days)

-        Place of death – mostly hospital-based

-        Ethnicity – majority white; some Asian, Black, Mixed

-        Collaboration with agencies to improve timeliness

Modifiable Factors

-        4 cases (14%) had modifiable factors

-        National average 43% of cases had modifiable factors

-        Issues included – seatbelt use in modified vehicles, tracheostomy management in babies and inter-professional communication

-        National common factors – parental smoking, high maternal BMI, supervision issues, poor inter-agency communication

Learning and Actions

-        Themes/actions identified at CDOP inform local practice

·        Safe Sleep campaign enhancement planned

·        Task and Finish Group reviewed neonatal deaths (2021/22)

·        Most deaths linked to deprivation and chronic conditions

·        Learning shared with professionals and networks e.g. swimming lessons partnership for children with learning disabilities

-        Task and Finish Group reviewed infant/neonatal deaths.  Findings:

·        Most deaths due to prematurity/immaturity

·        Some avoidable deaths due to care delays

·        No evidence of a single factor explaining increase in numbers

National Trends

-        3,577 child deaths in England 2023/24 (down 4% vs previous year)

-        Child deaths at 29.8 per 199k children

·        Black children: 55.4 deaths/100k

·        Asian children: 46.8 deaths/100k

·        White children: 25.5 deaths/100k

-        Children in most deprived areas >2x death rate of least deprived.  Deprivation strongly linked to mortality

-  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Lorna Quinn, Public Health Intelligence Specialist, to present the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

Lorna Quinn, Public Health Intelligence Specialist, together with Matthew Blomefield, Public Health Intelligence Analyst, presented the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for the period 2025-28 with the aid of the following powerpoint presentation:-

Process

-        Legislation required that Health and Wellbeing Boards produce an assessment of the need for pharmaceutical services.  The assessments (Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments (PNAs)) were due every 3 years

-        A steering group met annually (or as frequently as required) to provide supplementary updates and to refresh the full document each year

-        The previous PNA covered 2022-2025; this document covered 2025-28

-        The draft document was shared for 60 days consultation on 14^th July 2025

-        The PNA would be published September 2025 and would be reviewed as necessary following any changes in provision

Regulation Requirements

-        A map of current provision

-        A summary of local health need

-        Conclusions

·        If there was sufficient choice with regard to obtaining pharmaceutical services in Rotherham

·        Pharmaceutical services that were necessary to meet the health needs of the population

v  All essential services

v  Advance Services (Pharmacy First; Hypertension case-finding, Flu Vaccination)

v  Locally commissioned services (needle exchange, supervised consumption and emergency hormonal contraception)

·        If there were identified future need for pharmaceutical services e.g. new housing developments

·        If there were any other NHS services that affected pharmaceutical service needs

Main Findings

-        Overall access to pharmaceutical services in Rotherham was good.  Most of the population lived within easy access of a pharmacy and good physical access was supplemented by increasing growth in national online service provision

-        As of January 2025, there were 65 pharmaceutical service providers for the area of Rotherham Health and Wellbeing Board.  This included:-

·        61 pharmacies

·        1 dispensing appliance contractor (DAC)

·        3 dispensing GP practices

-        A local population of 268,267 (mid-2022 – most recent estimate for local areas) indicates 22.7 pharmacies per population head in Rotherham

-        As there was no set definition for ‘need’, access, resident choice and current use of pharmacies had been reviewed

Access

-        In Rotherham 23% of the population did not have access to a car or van in their household, therefore, access had been reviewed to include walking time and walking distance alongside drive time:

·        83.4% of the population of Rotherham lived within a 15 minute walk of a Rotherham-based pharmaceutical service provider

·        93.2% of the 20% most deprived population lived within a 15 minute walk of a Rotherham-based pharmaceutical service provider

·        98.9% of the population lived within 15 minutes on public transport on a weekday morning

·        100% of Rotherham-based residents lived within a 10 minute drive of a Rotherham-based pharmaceutical services provider during rush hour

·        Including cross-border pharmacies had a marginal impact on the proportion of Rotherham residents within 15 minutes walk or 1.6 km (1 mile) of a pharmaceutical services provider

Resident Choice

-        In a resident survey conducted with Healthwatch Rotherham, residents fed back that access and convenience were the biggest influencers of pharmacy choice

-        The most common method of access was driving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Lorna Quinn, Public Health Intelligence Specialist, to present the evaluation of the 3-4 months Health Visit

Lorna Quinn, Public Health Intelligence Principal, presented the initial findings from the implementation of an additional visit within the Healthy Child Programme (HCP).

The following powerpoint presentation was also shown in conjunction with the report:-

Background

-        Successful application to work with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams (PHIRST) based at Nottingham University

-        The aim was to evaluate the impact of the 3-4 month health visit, an additional visit which was previously available to only families requiring enhanced support but offered to all parents through Family Hubs funding until March 2026

-        Practitioners review child development, provide guidance on breastfeeding and safe weaning and support parental mental health

Methods

-        Qualitative

·        15 individual interviews with parents

·        2 focus groups with parents (including one with parents who had not taken up the visit)

·        Focus groups with 7 nursery nurses, 4 Public Health staff and commissioners

·        Factors associated with delivery and uptake of the visit were examined

-        Quantitative

·        Tracking month-by-month how many eligible babies received it and whether it happened on time.  Visit completion was described by demographic factors including socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity, maternal age and parity and developmental scores at 3-4 months

·        The children’s 12 month development scores were compared before and after the review controlling the demographic factors

Reach

-        The 3-4 month visit began in September 2023 but was targeted

-        General rollout to the entire population began from January 2024

-        On average just under 200 babies and their families received a 3-4 month visit each month

Qualitative Key Findings

-        Parents valued having an additional visit between the 6-8 week and 9-12 month reviews and the visit was positively supported

-        There were positive opinions of the service and family hubs

-        Community groups, such as those delivered at a local mosque, provided an important way of delivering information and support to diverse communities

-        Parents felt the visit was more developmentally focused than other visits, aligning with nursery nurse skills in developmental screening

-        The visit supports parents’ knowledge and preparedness for upcoming developmental milestones, providing parental reassurance

Quantitative Findings - Demographic

-        3-4 month visit rates stabilised at around 80%

-        Before adjusting for potential confounders, 3-4 month visit rates were lower for older mothers, those who already had a child and those in IMD deciles 5 and 6

Quantitative Findings - ASQ

-        Of those who received the visit, the ASQ completion was around 80%

Quantitative Key Findings

-        The 3-4 month visit uptake was equitable across socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity and maternal age group but families with more than one child were around 70% less likely to receive a visit

-        Maternal mood recording rates were consistent across deprivation quintiles and ethnic groups

-        At the 9-12 month visit, children eligible for a universal 3-4 month visit had higher likelihood of scoring above the close-monitoring cutoff in the ASQ domain of problem solving

Next Steps

-        These findings provided evidence for Rotherham stakeholders  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Chris Edwards, Executive Place Director, NHS SYICB, reported Rotherham had been  selected as a Neighbourhood Pioneer Pilot.  There had been 42 national pilots identified in South Yorkshire and Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley had been successful.  Workshops were to be held to work out how to bring Acute Services into neighbourhoods. 

Resolved:-  That, when appropriate, a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Board.

Chris Edwards, Executive Place Director, NHS SYICB, reported that the BCF plan would be shared with TRFT.