The Chair welcomed Councillor T. Robinson, Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care and asked him to address the Committee on the recent IT Failure at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA).

The Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care stated that he had met with senior officers to discuss the emerging IT issue that was impacting upon North Manchester General Hospital. He advised that business contingency plans were being enacted and that a comprehensive briefing note would be circulated to all Members by the close of business.

The Deputy Director of Adult Social Services reassured the Committee that teams were working to ensure the continued safe treatment and discharge of patients.

Decision

To note the oral update.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2022.

Decision

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2022 as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Public Health, Manchester City Council

At the March 2022 meeting of the Committee, the final draft of the Living Safely and Fairly with Covid plan was presented. The Plan highlighted the ambition to build a local resilient health protection system for the city, learning from the Covid-19 pandemic.

A presentation on progress will be provided to the Committee, along with the latest available data on Covid-19 vaccination uptake and the Spring/Summer vaccination plan.

The Committee considered the joint presentation of the Director of Public Health and the Medical Director, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, that had been circulated to all Members in advance of the meeting that provided an update on COVID-19 activity.

Key points and themes in the presentation included:

·         An update on the current Covid data;

·         An overview of the Manchester Health Protection System; and

·         Information relating to the Manchester Spring Vaccination Plan.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         The need to learn the lessons from history and HIV/Aids and how stigma and misconceptions can arise in relation to health issues;

·         Consideration needed to be given nationally as to the naming of monkeypox, noting that this could arise to public misconceptions;

·         Further information was sought as to the Covid winter booster vaccination programme and if the public would be charged, in a similar way as the flu vaccination was administered;

·         Noting that COVID had not gone away and was still prevalent and people needed to be reminded of this;

·         Recognising the important role of community vaccination hubs and pop-up events to support the vaccination programme;

·         Noting the relationship of the reported cases of COVID and the removal of free Lateral Flow Testing;

·         The vaccination levels in Manchester were still relatively low compared to the national average and further information was sought as to the characteristics of those not vaccinated;

·         Information on the future of Sounding Boards was requested.

The Director of Public Health addressed the issue of monkeypox by advising that at the time of reporting there were no reported cases in the North West. He advised that nationally there were 71 confirmed cases and that the risk to public health was very low, however the local situation would continue to be closely monitored and he was confident that local systems were in place to effectively respond in the event of an outbreak. In response to the discussion regarding misconceptions and stigma he stated that the team were also working closely with the Communications Team and the local Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners to ensure the messaging was appropriate and accurate. He further acknowledged the comments regarding the naming of the disease and he would raise this nationally following the meeting.  He advised the Committee that he would keep them updated in regard to monkeypox.

The Strategic Lead Population Health Programmes advised that in terms of the vaccination cohorts the guidance of The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) was followed. She stated that it was recognised nationally that the wider vaccination system, such as flu and childhood immunisations needed to be streamlined. In regard to future vaccination charging, she said that the approach to this was yet to be decided at a national level. She described that unlike in other areas of the country Manchester continued to deliver a consistent vaccination offer, including the outreach services and pop-up events and that teams of core volunteers still operated and supported such  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

The monthly report includes the recommendations monitor, relevant key decisions, the Committee’s work programme and items for information. The report also contains additional information including details of those organisations that have been inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Please note, there will be a Work Programming session at the rise of this meeting for Committee members only.

The report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations was submitted for comment. Members were also invited to agree the Committee’s future work programme.

The Committee noted that it would be discussing the work programme for the forthcoming municipal year in further detail in a private session following the meeting, and that an updated work programme reflecting this discussion would be circulated as normal in the papers for the next meeting.

Decision

The Committee notes the report and agrees the work programme, noting the above comment.