Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Pat Haith and Councillor Rachel Hodson.

It was noted that Councillor Sean Gibbons was not expected to attend.

Councillor Blake as Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care also sent her apologies.

There were no declarations of interest made.

The minutes of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on the 30^th January 2020 and 19^th March 2020 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

[A period not exceeding 20 minutes for

Statements from up to 5 members of the public on

matters within the Panel’s remit, proposing action(s)

which may be considered or contribute towards the

future development of the Panel’s work programme].

There were no public statements made.

The Panel was provided with a presentation on the All Age Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health approach and guiding principles that included the following areas:

·         Doncaster Approach and Guiding Principles – what does it mean?

·         Question 1 - Impact of the pandemic on the emotional well-being of the health and social care workforce?

·         Question 2- ‘Working collectively with partners to robustly monitor impact’ in very practical terms what exactly does this mean?

·         Question 3 - The SPA or single point of assessment, how are people made aware of this?  Is the information accessible?

A brief explanation was given that further to managing the initial response, consideration was now being provided to the recovery phase.  It was suggested that the strategy could be brought back to the Panel in the future at an appropriate time.

Impact on Community Groups - Concern was raised by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee that communities had been adversely impacted by Covid-19 and now had fewer volunteers.  It was commented that participants of those groups (including those that managed them) were now quite vulnerable and more isolated.  It was felt that this indicated one of many barriers now faced by community led groups and was hoped that these issues would be looked at to see how those barriers could be broken down.

Members were assured that partners recognised how important it was to engage with those communities, understand what those barriers were and identify how innovation and strengths out there could be better utilised.

Mental Health Provision and Resources - It was felt that support around mental health disorders had been under resourced for some time.  It was explained that from a children’s mental health services perspective, increased resources had been made obtainable through local transformation funding and this area was one of the first national trailblazers for mental health.  It was recognised that there were now more resources available to support schools that had not been there 12 months previous.  It was advised that going forward there would be a great deal of work undertaken closely with schools and education, which would be monitored to identify where those needs were to be addressed.

The Young Adviser in attendance used their own college as an example of what was also being made available.  It was outlined that this included drop-in sessions, mental health support and teachers making themselves available to students.  It was considered by the Young Advisor that during long periods spent at home, young people were quite isolated and had reached out to friends and family.  It was felt that although support was available through various means, it was less available at weekends.

Members were informed that RDasH had also benefitted from access to a crisis Covid fund that had helped address gaps in what provision had been made available.  It was agreed that there was a change in need and partners were beginning to form an understanding in light of the pandemic.   Members were advised how as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Senior Governance Officer presented the 2020/2021 Scrutiny Work Plan for consideration and reminded Members of the current Forward Plan of key decisions.

It was noted that the draft overview and scrutiny workplan had not been fully populated with all Panels and Committees at the time it was circulated.

There was a brief discussion around future items for the Overview and Scrutiny workplans following the meeting’s discussions.

Members spoke about the wider aspect of Covid-19, the local impact as well as lessons learnt and actions that would need to be taken for a potential second wave, for example, Personal Protective Equipment, preparation, track, and trace.

It was considered that the wider aspects of Covid-19 could be scoped at the appropriate time.

RESOLVED that the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2020/21 and Forward Plan of key decisions be noted.