To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting. 

11.1           Members received an update from Councillor Mrs J E Day, the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on matters discussed at its last meeting held on 6 June 2017.  

11.2           Councillor Day explained that as this had been the first meeting of the Committee since the election and it had been felt important that Members were given an understanding of the landscape of health and adult social care in Gloucestershire. The One Gloucestershire: Transforming Care, Transforming Communities Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), set out the direction of travel for health and social care in the County and was therefore best placed to inform Members on the context and direction of travel for health and care services in the County. The Accountable Officer of Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group had described the challenges facing the services which included the projected and significant increase in the number of people over 65 years with a long term condition and the projected increase of 20% in the 75 to 84 age group by 2021. Gloucestershire had both an urban and rural landscape and the Clinical Commissioning Group recognised that one size would not fit all. The presentation had highlighted the significant amount of work in progress to deliver the STP and the positive health outcomes already being achieved. Many of those were detailed on the presentation slides which were available on the County Council’s website. Some Members had expressed the view that the STP lacked the necessary detail to help members of the public understand what it meant for them; however, the Committee was assured that, as soon as any proposal for change was ready to go out for consultation, the Committee would be consulted as a statutory consultee.

11.3           In terms of the adult social care and public health performance report, the Director of Adult Social Services had explained that the number of people with a learning disability in employment was at its highest; however, the way the indicator was now measured did not reflect that position. The Director of Public Health had highlighted that the indicator showing the number of adults receiving ‘alcohol brief interventions’ was underperforming. The service had previously been achieving target and it was felt that this dip related to the change in provider at the beginning of the year. The Director expected that performance would improve during the first two quarters of 2017/18 and informed Members that the Council would be changing how it commissioned NHS health checks next year so that people at more risk would be targeted.

11.4           Councillor Day went on to advise that the Accountable Officer for the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group had informed the Committee that there was a new Improvement and Assessment Framework in place; there were six clinical priority areas within the framework and the current assessment was that cancer, learning disabilities and mental health needed improvement and that dementia, diabetes and maternity were performing well. The Committee had received information reports covering adult social care, public health and health services and those reports included a wealth of information and were helpful in alerting Members to national consultations and local issues. Of particular interest was the annual report of the Director of Public Health; this outlined how the public grant was spent and provided information on the health and wellbeing of the residents of Gloucestershire. The report also used case studies to demonstrate how effective interventions had been and the difference made to individual lives; it was good to see how a referral to Slimming World had turned a diabetes sufferer’s world around such that he was now diabetes free.

11.5           Councillor Day advised that a copy of the Minutes of the last meeting had been placed in the Members’ Lounge and, accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the feedback from the last meeting of the Gloucestershire                          Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee be NOTED.