Agenda item - Chair's Communications

Section 75 Children

64.1   The Chair reported that Sussex Community Trust and Children’s Services currently had a Section 75 provider agreement in place in relation to the delivery of integrated services for children and young people. This meant that Children’s Services had been operationally managing the delivery of community health services for children and young people. This included for example, Health Visitors, School Nurses, and Speech & Occupational Therapists. The agreement ceased at the end of March 2015. The agreement primarily related to the integrated service delivery at the council’s Children’s Centres and the council’s service for disabled children based at Seaside View. The Local Authority and Sussex Community Trust had held a number of meetings to ensure that the services that children and their families received were not disrupted. They had agreed that the current arrangements would continue until October 2015, agreed through a local Memorandum of Understanding that was now being finalised. Children and their families should experience no change in the service that they received. Over the next six months Sussex Community Trust and the council would agree longer term arrangements for the delivery of these services. In the autumn, the council and Clinical Commissioning Group would be bringing the overall strategy for children’s health and wellbeing to the Health & Wellbeing Board.

Child Sexual Exploitation

64.2       The Chair stated that Members of the Health & Wellbeing Board would be aware of the publicity associated with child sexual exploitation in areas such as Rochdale, Rotherham and Oxfordshire. Recently central government had also provided further guidance for agencies that were tasked with tackling this issue.

Child sexual exploitation was taking place in the city of Brighton & Hove and in every city across the country. Council, police and health staff within the city were working closely with each other to identify victims and potential victims, provide support for them and to pursue perpetrators of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). The Local Safeguarding Board had agreed to take overall responsibility for the oversight of agencies that were tackling CSE. Recent developments had included the following:

•                A detailed analysis that sought to identify young people within the city who are vulnerable to CSE, those who are currently being exploited and patterns and trends across the city to identify ‘hot spots’

•                Training and awareness raising, including across the council’s  secondary schools

•                The development of a dedicated Missing children/Child Exploitation Team based at the MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) who would work with the most complex CSE cases

•                Work to identify boys and young men who are victims of CSE, a group where there is under-reporting both nationally and in Brighton & Hove

At the last Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) meeting it was agreed that in addition to the scrutiny that would be applied by the LSCB itself that an annual report on Child Sexual Exploitation would be presented to the Health & Wellbeing Board so that the health and wellbeing system as a whole had the opportunity to assure itself that this issue was being properly addressed. The report would be presented to the next meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

64.3   Councillor Jarrett raised the issue of the sexual exploitation of young adults.  He stressed that there were incidences where sexual exploitation continued beyond childhood and action needed to be taken in these cases.  Denise D’Souza concurred and stressed that Adult Social Care worked with colleagues in Children’s Services regarding this issue.  She would also be raising the issue with ADASS (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services).

         Proposed Change to the Corporate Parenting Board

64.4    The Chair reported that the Corporate Parenting Board was currently an Advisory Board reporting to Policy & Resources Committee. This arrangement was established in 2013 in order to ensure that the Council’s duties as Corporate Parent retained a high profile. The role, scope and membership of the Health & Wellbeing Board had now been significantly developed and it was proposed that the Corporate Parenting Board should report to it. This would be consistent with the Children’s and safeguarding functions of the Health & Wellbeing Board and would ensure that the council’s Health Partners were able to be fully engaged in the commitment to improving outcomes for children in care and care leavers.

The Board would report to the Health and Wellbeing Board at least twice annually.  The proposal would necessitate a change in the Policy & Resources Committee and Health & Wellbeing Board Terms of Reference.  All members of the Health and Wellbeing Board would be supported with training to enable them to undertake this function.

         Update on Eaton Place

64.5   The Chair reported on an NHS England update as of 19 March 2015.  Further to the NHS England update on the 9 March 2015 they could confirm that out of the original 170 vulnerable patients identified by Eaton Place Surgery, only 20 did not register with an alternative GP surgery themselves and had therefore now been assigned to a new GP practice in order to guarantee their immediate access to care. This did not prevent these patients from choosing to register with another GP surgery subsequently, should they wish to do so.

All children classified as “at risk” had registered with a new practice.

NHS England was currently awaiting updated registration figures following the completion of the de-registration process but it was estimated that there were 1,200 remaining patients who had yet to register with another GP practice. This included 180 patients who had applied to register with the Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre. These patients had all been notified by the Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre that their practice was no longer in a position to open a branch surgery at Eaton Place and had been given the choice of either completing their registration with the Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre, as an out of area patient, or registering with another local GP practice.

NHS England would be undertaking a review of the process undertaken to maintain patient care, as result of the Eaton Place Surgery contract coming to an end following the retirement of the two GP partners there. NHS England would ensure that any appropriate learning was identified and shared appropriately with stakeholders.

64.6   Graham Bartlett stated that he had regular contact with NHS England but it had been difficult to obtain figures on Child Protection Plans or children in need in terms of registration.  The Local Safeguarding Children’s Board was keen to ensure that these most vulnerable children in the city received continuous GP care.  Mr Bartlett was now satisfied that was the case but felt that there were lessons to be learnt for the future.   The Chair replied that a report would be submitted to the Health and Wellbeing Board in July on the lessons learnt from the surgery closure. 

64.7   Frances McCabe asked if the review of the process carried out by NHS England could show the cost in terms of money and time that could have been used differently.  Deborah Tomalin replied that there would be an analysis of the cost of the closure.   

64.8   Councillor Norman asked if a copy of the Chair’s Communications could be circulated to members of the Board.  The Chair agreed to this request.

         Councillor Kitcat’s last meeting                                                                   

64.9   Councillor Norman thanked Councillor Kitcat for his good work in chairing the Board fairly and honestly.  He wished Councillor Kitcat well in whatever he chose to do in the future.   

64.10  The Chair confirmed that this would be his last meeting as Chair of the Board.  The fact that the Board was coming together as a body for consensus decision making was powerful and exciting.  However, the outcomes for citizens must change.  The Board must not only carry out decision making collectively but to provide accountability and scrutiny to all the services being provided for the health and wellbeing of the citizens of the city.