Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2025 were agreed as an accurate record with no matters arising.

Members of the Board to declare an interest in any particular agenda item.

There were no declarations of interest made.

The following updates were received from Members of the Board:

• The first Alcohol Alliance discussion session will be happening on Thursday 27th February, 14:00 at the Civic Centre. 
• The Connected Voice AGM will be happening on Thursday 10th April at St Mary's Heritage Centre.

The Board received a presentation on the theme of the 2025 Director of Public Health Annual Report, 'Ripples of Despair'. This report examines the impact of lives lost to alcohol, drugs and suicide by listening to people with lived experience and tackling stigma in our communities.

It was recognised that the topic of the report may be difficult for some to hear about. However, it was noted that this is something important raise awareness of, as it impacts many people across Gateshead, in very different ways.

Between 2002 and 2022, there were approximately 1,278 deaths by drugs, alcohol and suicide in Gateshead. These are not just numbers - they are mothers, fathers, friends and children, each leaving behind grieving families and communities.

The Ripples of Despair report is available to view here, alongside a short film of the report with voices from residents of Gateshead. (https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/article/31112/Shining-a-light-on-the-impact-of-lives-lost-to-alcohol-drugs-and-suicide)

RESOLVED

1. The Board noted the report.

The Board received a presentation discussing developments to Children and Young People’s (CYP) mental health pathways.

The following updates were given on ICB delivered services:

Gateshead FT 0-4 Paediatric Service incorporating the Autism Diagnostic Pathway

Currently experiencing increased demand of children, young people & families requiring diagnosis.

Additional Investment provided to re-design the service & reduce wait times

South Tyneside & Sunderland Trust Primary Care CYP Mental Health Team

Service is focussed upon early intervention & prevention

Delivering a mixed model of;

Drop-in activity

Parent/ carer support

Workforce development

1-1 interventions

The Children’s Society RISE Mental Health in Schools Team

2 Teams working across Gateshead School’s on a termly basis

Delivering early intervention support

CNTW Single Point of Access

Access point for CNTW Commissioned Services

CNTW Getting Help Service

Lead provider counselling-based model

CNTW Getting More Help Service

Secondary Care Services, including neurodevelopment diagnostic pathway

Gateshead East PCN Commission Edburts House to deliver an extended Social Prescribing Service for Children, Young People & Families

Daisy Chain Autism Hubs – Service Commissioned until June 2025 via the local authority through ICB Investment

Trusting Hands Trauma Informed Service - Working with our most vulnerable children & young people

The Children & Young People’s Mental Health, Health Needs Assessment was completed with 6 key recommendations:

·         Improve data capture & reporting across the system

·         Improve representation of Children & Young People

·         Increase the quantity of treatment available for mental health conditions

·         Increase the range of treatment interventions available for mental health conditions

·         Agree a Mental Health in All Policies Approach

·         Agree a system wide prevention-based strategy to stop mental health conditions from occurring rather than just focus on treatment

·         HNA Implementation Plan currently in development to embed recommendations across the system

RESOLVED

The Board:

i.              Noted the presentation.

The Board received a presentation on the development of an autism strategy for Gateshead, looking to seek final approval of the contents of the Strategy.

The Board were informed of the scope of the project, and the seven priorities with actions that will form the strategy.

The current position and next steps were identified as follows:

Current position

·         Various versions of the Strategy have been shared and amends made accordingly

·         Progression through various governance processes including portfolio’s, GMT adults, GMT children’s, OSC, CMT, Leadership and Cabinet

·         Concurrent process of approval undertaken by ICB colleagues to achieve approvals by place director

Next steps

·         Planning has been undertaken in relation to first Autism Board meeting

·         Development of implementation plan will be owned by the Autism Board

·         Working groups to be developed following initial Board meeting

·         Draft accompanying communication plan has been developed

The Board noted concern about a disadvantage for SEND CYP when accessing post-16 academies regarding a strict 95% or higher attendance rule in their previous school record. The Board was also informed about a new social care case management system giving the ambition and clear plan to be able to consider equity of access and look at the intersectionality that often impacts this to see who is and isn't accessing services.  

RESOLVED

The Board:

1. Agreed presentation.
2. Asked that an update comes back to the board in 6 months.

A presentation was given to the Board relating to the work and priorities of Healthwatch Gateshead over 2023/24, and ongoing work for the future.

An overview was given of the purpose of Healthwatch, nationally and in Gateshead, and its vision, mission and values.

At local level, the Healthwatch Gateshead Committee agrees on 3 or 4 themes of work per year for each area. The Annual Report for 2023/24 has been published, and annual priorities for 2024/25 are as follows:

·         Autism and ADHD

·         Dementia Care

·         Physiotherapy

·         Youthwatch (continued from 2024)

·         Residential Care Homes

The 2025 Gateshead Healthwatch Annual Survey is now open for everyone with experience of local health and social care services to take part. The survey closes on 31 March 2025. Healthwatch Gateshead will use the feedback to generate a report based on how the public assess the effectiveness of current service provision.

RESOLVED

The Board:

1. Noted the presentation and annual report.
2. Invited Healthwatch Gateshead to update further on the ongoing priorities in 12 months' time.
3. Agreed that Healthwatch Gateshead's five priorities should be added as topics in the Forward Plan.

The Board received an update regarding the Gateshead Cares System Board.

An in depth update was provided on Gateshead Place Plan: Priority 4 - Ageing Well: Transformation of Home Care and Care Homes.  

The Board discussed the Gateshead Cares organogram and how the committee structure reflects ongoing work.

The Board heard that the expected benefits in the first 12 months were:

·         Capacity to meet the demands required to support people at home

·         Improvement in both recruitment and retention

·         Over 70% of the workforce no longer on 0-hour contracts (all offered)

·         A greater use of community resources, technology and equipment to support more people at home longer

·         A reduction in the number of people in long term residential care 

RESOLVED

The Board:

1. Noted the presentation.

The Board received a report on Quarter 3 of the Better Care Fund 2024/25.

The return has highlighted that all four metrics are currently on track to meet the targets for 2024/25. Investment in services to support avoidable admissions to hospital and improve flow out of hospital is showing a positive position compared to previous year.

The activity for Pathway 1 to 3 services in the quarter has slightly increased from the previous period. There continues to be some excess capacity to support pathway 1 discharges should demand increase.

The activity to support people in the Community to prevent hospital admissions continues to be higher than the projected demands. This demonstrates the shift in focus to prevent admissions instead of focusing mainly on hospital discharges.

Services are flexible and whilst capacity has been allocated for the purpose of the plan, they will flex to meet the required pressures on any given day. It is expected as part of the 25-26 BCF planning, that a permanent change in the demand figures will be made to see the positive change in the way we are operating in Gateshead, with a focus on hospital prevention and home first.

RESOLVED

The Board:

i.              Approved the Better Care Fund Quarter 3 return for 2024/25.