Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mr Richard Streatfeild MBE.

Mr Beaney, Ms Grehan, Mr Hills, Ms Hawkins, Ms Hamilton and Ms Wright were in attendance virtually.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2024 were a correct record and that they be signed by the Chair.

Ms Wendy Jeffreys (Consultant in Public Health) and Dr Anjan Ghosh (Director of Public Health) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Dr Ghosh indicated that items 5 and 6 of the agenda could be dealt with in quick succession as they both related to the ongoing Family Hub programme and the Public Health element, Start for Life.        

2.    Ms Wendy Jeffreys introduced the report and confirmed that:

·         The strategy had been out for public consultation and cocreation with the public and stakeholders, as required by the Department of Education (DFE).

·         The key themes for Nurture Little Hearts and Minds were featured in the circulated report. The responses to the consultation and Equality Impact Assessment had also been provided to members.

RESOLVED to endorse the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health’s proposed decision to:

(a)   Adopt the co-created strategy in regard to low to moderate perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships, as detailed in the report.

(b)  Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health to take necessary actions, including but not limited to, allocating resources, expenditure, entering into contracts and other legal agreements, as required to implement the decision.

Ms Wendy Jeffreys (Consultant in Public Health) and Dr Anjan Ghosh (Director of Public Health) were in attendance for this item.

1.            Ms Jeffreys introduced the report and confirmed that the strategy was out for public consultation at the same time as item 5, allowing the public to respond to either strategy, or both.

2.            Ms Jeffreys provided the following update:

a.    Since the agenda was published, colleagues within the local maternity neonatal system (part of the integrated care system within Kent and Medway) had taken the Infant Feeding Strategy through their ICB (Integrated Care Board) Strategy Policy and Planning Group and the following changes had been proposed:

                 i.          On page 23 of strategy replace with: each maternity and   neonatal service to have an infant feeding team with sufficient time and expertise provide additional support in hospital and at home until discharge including with the unique challenges faced by mothers with babies on the neonatal unit.

               ii.          The request for this change was down to the strategy being for a duration of 5 years and there was an expectation that neonatal commissioning would move from NHS England to the Integrated Care Board.

              iii.          On page 25 replace with: review accessibility of tongue-tied division clinics for families.

              iv.          This change was required as this was a specialised procedure and they wanted to ensure public expectation was maintained as this was not available in every clinic.

b.     The strategy refers to the draft of the Integrated Care Strategy but should refer to the Integrated Care Strategy.

3.            The ICB confirmed that they wished to submit a statement in support of      the proposed feeding strategy to accompany Dr Ghosh’s statement.

4.         Ms Jeffreys responded to a question from the Chair and confirmed that some changes had been suggested by the ICB since the report was published.

5.         Mr Watkins commented that the proposed changes were relatively minor and the public consultation provided a positive reception.

6.         Dr Ghosh confirmed that, although the proposed changes were minor, they future proofed the strategy. He explained that commissioning within         the NHS was going to be delegated to the ICB (Integrated Care Board) and the language used in the proposed changes would allow for this adaptation.

RESOLVED to endorse the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health’s proposed decision to:

            (a)       Adopt the Infant Feeding Strategy, ‘Nourishing our next                                  generation.’

            (b)       Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health to take       necessary actions, including but not limited to, allocating      resources, expenditure, entering into contracts and other legal    agreements, as required to implement the decision

Ms Victoria Tovey (Assistant Director of Integrated Commissioning), Ms Rebecca Eley (Senior Commissioner - Integrated Commissioning) and Dr Anjan Ghosh (Director of Public Health) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Dr Ghosh introduced the report and confirmed that this item and item 8 both related to the spectrum of the drugs and alcohol service.

2.    Dr Ghosh stated that these were significant services in the county and were commissioned in a mixed way; the bulk being commissioned by the core public health grant and other parts commissioned by new money from the Government, being part of the Dame Carol Black review and national strategy.

3.    Ms Eley presented the report which set out the need to recommission all three Kent Community Drug and Alcohol Services, as part of the Public Health Service Transformation Programme and highlighted the key points to Members.

4.    In response to a member’s question concerning 1.9 of Appendix B of the report, Ms Eley confirmed that the prevention of vaping was also a priority for commissioners and would be explored further in collaboration with young persons’ services.

5.    In response to a member’s question regarding the mention of extended services and changes included on page 303 of the report, Ms Tovey confirmed that the report set out the changes and enhancements of the  services which followed the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. She commented that the key elements of the service and how they operate would be similar.

6.    Ms Eley explained that the changes were proposed however there would be collaboration with stakeholders and providers.

7.    Mr Watkins drew Member’s attention to the summary outlined on page 313 of the agenda pack which set out the list of changes.

RESOLVED to endorse the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health’s proposed decision to:

a)    Approve the procurement and award of a contract for the Kent Young Persons Drug and Alcohol Service effective from 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2027 (two years with two additional extension options, one for two years and the second for one year)

b)    Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering and finalising the terms of relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the above decision

c)    Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, the exercise of any extensions permitted in accordance with the extension clauses within the contract.

d)    CONFIRM that future Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) grant funding (if received) be deployed against this area of work in accordance with key decision 22/00041.

Ms Victoria Tovey (Assistant Director of Integrated Commissioning), Ms Rebecca Eley (Senior Commissioner - Integrated Commissioning) and Dr Anjan Ghosh (Director of Public Health) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Ms Eley introduced the report and highlighted additional points which had not already been covered under item 7.

2.    Ms Tovey confirmed the recommendations of how to take the recommissioning model forward were set out in the report.

3.    In response to a member’s question concerning 1.4 in Appendix B, Ms Eley explained that in East Kent, the service was supporting research on the use of technology within Naloxone (an antidote to an opiate overdose), which is looking at how technology could assist, for example: the practicalities of the immediate alert of emergency services once a Naloxone seal was broken.

RESOLVED to endorse the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health’s proposed decision to:

a)             Approve the procurement and award of contracts for the East and West      Kent Community Drug and Alcohol Services effective from 1 February      2025 to 31 January 2029 (four years with two additional two-year extension options),

b)             Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health to take relevant   actions, including but not limited to, entering into and finalising the           terms of relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the above decision

c)             Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with        the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, the   exercise of any extensions permitted in accordance with the extension        clauses within the contract.

d)             Confirm that future Office for Health Improvement and Disparities     (OHID) grant funding (if received) be deployed against this area of work in accordance with key decision 22/00041

Dr Ghosh (Director of Public Health) and Ms Victoria Tovey (Assistant Director of Integrated Commissioning were in attendance for this item.

1.    Dr Ghosh and Ms Tovey introduced the performance report for Quarter 4 2023/24. Ms Tovey confirmed there were 10 green indicators and 5 amber and highlighted the key points included in the paper, including a date reporting issue (contained in 3.2 of the paper).

2.    In answer to a Member’s question, Ms Tovey explained that several of the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) presented to the committee were mandated, nationally reported and published. She explained that Integrated Services monitored many different areas but the KPIs were there to hone, refine and focus the committee on a revised set of indicators for the services.

3.    Dr Ghosh commented that the first level of accountability for the indicators was Mr Watkins, but as a service they would look to continue to bring any items that Members wished to know about and which related to the committee.

RESOLVED to note the performance of Public Health commissioned services in Q4 2023/2024 and the proposed KPI target changes for 2024/2025.

RESOLVED to note the work programme.