Agenda item

Mr Dominic Cox (Deputy Chief Commissioning Officer) and Mrs Claire Robson (The Company Secretary of the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board)

1)    The Committee received a report about the response to the recent Meningitis B outbreak, and Mr Cox highlighted the following aspects of the report:

a)  a coordinated local response had been delivered in March 2026 involving Kent County Council, the NHS, UK Health Security Agency, education providers and the venue concerned. It was highlighted that strong collaboration had enabled effective management of the incident.

b) A declaration of a major incident and activation of the NHS’s role as a Category 1 emergency responder and had resulted in the swift implementation of a mass antibiotic prophylaxis programme and vaccination response.

c) Responses had been clinically led with strong joint leadership from the Council and NHS, ensuring it was safe and evidence based. Additionally, the response had been rapid, well-coordinated and supported by proactive communication. Approximately 13,500 antibiotic treatments and 12,000 vaccinations delivered across multiple sites, and the overall scale and effectiveness of the mobilisation were highlighted as positive, proactive and organised.

d) Officers discussed areas for improvement, including the need to strengthen coordination between local and national partners in the event of a future incident. Further discussion raised that workforce resilience required further consideration, as responses of a large scale could place significant pressure on a small number of staff. Ongoing reflections were being undertaken across the NHS and partner organisations to address the challenges encountered.

2)     Members responded to the report with the following:

a)    They raised concerns that the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust was not present at the Committee to discuss the incident. Concerns on how long it took the organisation to flag the incident and how other organisations were also not present to discuss their role in the incident.

b)    Members raised that awareness of the meningitis outbreak among students appeared to have arisen only after a video circulated showing an emergency response, rather than through formal communication and expressed worries regarding the timeliness and urgency of the University’s response and if there had been shortcomings on how the incident was communicated.

c)    Conversely, Members praised the speed in which KCC and the administration had dealt with the incident and it was discussed that the recommendation go beyond noting the report by formally recognising the efforts of those involved in delivering the response, and by recording the Committee’s sympathies for the friends and families of the individuals who had died, as well as those affected by the incident

d)    Following a question, officers confirmed that a formal debrief was either underway or pending to identify lessons learned and address gaps, noting the complexity of multi-agency coordination and information-sharing constraints.

e)    Additionally, it was discussed that social media had supported the official response through community awareness, and that Members sought reassurance on whether the overall outcome reflected system effectiveness or favourable circumstances.

f)     In response Mr Cox explained that the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)review was understood to be in progress, though its status was not yet confirmed.

g)    It was discussed that factors such as the timing of the incident during the academic term and the movement of students between campus and home had been considered as part of the response and had presented additional challenges for managing and communicating the situation.

h)    A motion was proposed by the Chair that the Committee’s recommendation be amended to formally thank the teams who delivered the response and to record the Committee’s sympathies with the friends and families of the two individuals who had died, as well as those who had suffered as a result of the incident.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

a)    note the report 

b)    formally thank the teams who delivered the response,

express its  sympathy with the families and friends of the two people who had died and all those affected by the incident.