To consider any items which the Chair has agreed to have submitted as urgent.

The chair agreed to the submission of an item of urgent business on an update from the Manchester Partnership Board (private) meeting held 30 July 2024.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2024.

Decision

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2024 as a correct record.

The Board was advised that at their private meeting of 30 July 2024 the Manchester Partnership Board (MPB) had discussed:

·       Mental health in Manchester and challenges from out of area placements;

·       Mobilisation of care plans relating to right care right person;

·       The mental wellbeing framework;

·       Urgent and emergency care system within Manchester and the preparations for winter and prioritisation of winter funding. A funding figure is expected in the coming weeks, which will be reported to the Partnership Board for final approval;

·       The next scheduled meeting of the Manchester Partnership Board is scheduled for 22 October 2024.

Decision

To note the update provided.

Report of the Director of Public Health attached.

The Board considered the report of the Director of Public Health that provides a progress update on the delivery of the Making Manchester Fairer Kickstarter Scheme - Improving Health Equity for Children and Young People - Children's element. Making Manchester Fairer (MMF) is the City Council’s five-year action plan to address health inequalities in the city, focusing on the social determinants of health.

The Assistant Director of Education provided an overview of the Children’s Kickstarter Scheme. Based on data found that pupils attaining a ‘Good Level of Development at the end of Early Years Foundation Stage in Manchester remained lower than Greater Manchester, North West and England, and experienced a larger reduction between 2019 and 2022.

The Kickstarter scheme provided a three-tiered approach (intensive, targeted and universal) to holistic support for children and families was designed:

Intensive support:

• 10 schools (GLD under 34%)

• Multi-agency taskforce • Implementation from April 2023

Targeted support:

• 42 schools (GLD under 50%)

• Direct advice and support service

• Online launch beginning of July and implementation September 2023 Universal support:

• Access to drop-ins, training, advice and events provided by Speech and Language

Therapy and Educational Psychology

• Early Years outreach workers

• Summer transition read?

The evaluation indicated the positive impact the scheme had in response to the impact of COVID-19 on children 7 years and under. A second year of the project will be implemented and has been jointly funded by Public Health and Children’s and Education. This will include work to overcome cultural barriers affecting school readiness in some communities and ensuring families are claiming all the benefits to which they are entitled.

The chair invited questions and comments from the Board members.

In welcoming the report officers were asked if the lessons learned would be rolled out to school across Manchester. Members also recognised the importance of supporting families through early help and family hubs and welcomed inclusion of case studies to demonstrate the benefit of the scheme.

It was reported that the scheme has demonstrated the interaction between speech and language therapy and Social Emotional and Mental Health and the benefit of training for school staff and the benefit this has to children in early years. It was reported that case studies have been recorded as part of the data collection in schools.

The chair stated that further information on the data collected is available to members. The work of the Health and Wellbeing Board has helped to bring together the work of children’s services and public health and both areas have risen to the challenge set. Further work is required to achieve the ambition of funding the scheme as a mainstream provision and progress will be monitored in future reports. The chair also referred to the impact the covid pandemic has had on the development of children and will continue to have in the coming years.

The chair thanked officers for the report and the comments made.

Decisions

1. The Board note and celebrate the impact identified  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Report of the Director of Public Health attached

The Board considered the report of the Director of Public Health that provided update on the oral health of the children in Manchester and the services and programmes available. Data provided has shown that the prevalence of tooth decay and rate of teeth extractions remains higher for children and young people in Manchester than in Greater Manchester and England as a whole. However, there are positive signs arising from an increase in the number of children seen by an NHS dentist and the application of fluoride varnishing for Manchester children and young people in comparison to the previous year. Reference was made to the increase in the number of children being seen by an NHS dentist and the use of fluoride vanishing to protect children’s teeth.

The Board was addressed by Jenny Osborne, Assistant Director, Integration and Population Health and Vicky Brand, Oral Improvement Manager. It was explained that the report related to the oral health and children and the work to improve oral health to improve the of young people. The lack of NHS dentists has had a negative impact of oral health and tooth decay. Early intervention work is the priority in view of the level of tooth decay in young children. Hospital tooth extraction had reduced, however the reasons for this is at this time unknown and data for sections of young children across the city was limited in several areas. Reference was made to the need to address attitudes of some communities towards dental health and more work was needed to educate families on decay prevention as improving access a dentist for those in care and leaving care. 

It was reported that the first Children’s Oral Health Improvement Conference had taken place in October 2023 and a Steering Group has been established and an action plan will be produced to focus on work moving forward. A framework for Manchester is being developed and the work so far has demonstrated that the priorities are in place to help target resources at those most in need. The Board was informed that resources and with the support from Colgate, are providing parents of 0–2-year-old children with toothbrushes and toothpaste and support and advise to parents on selfcare. A further targeted approach to four areas of Manchester is also proposed via family hubs to evaluate a smart tool to promote behaviour change on selfcare and collect data to use in targeting resources to improve health inequality. Manchester is also unique for the use of a buddy programme where a number of dental practices are linked up with schools to allow children to access a dentist who have not seen a dentist before. The parent will be provided with advice and the child will receive a consultation and a referral for treatment. The process can provide further data on dental arrangements for children aged 0-5 years.   

The Chair commented that the data provided further demonstrates the importance of targeted intervention for dental services in the city and follows on from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Report of the Director of Public Health attached

The Board considered the report of the Director of Public Health that provided a summary of the new Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) of infant mortality and the Safe and Healthy Beginnings plan that the JSNA has informed. A copy of the Infant Mortality JNSA was submitted. The Infant Mortality Rate is defined as the number of deaths under the age of one year, per 1000 live births. Manchester had a rate at 6.7 per 1000 live births in 2022, this significantly higher than the national average of 3.9 deaths per 1000 live births.

The Board were provided with an overview of the JNSA, in particular the impact of health inequality, levels of depravation and ethnicity on the level of infant mortality. From local data some of thew main factors contributing to infant mortality included unsafe sleep practices, smoking, substance and alcohol abuse, obesity and late access to antenatal care. The JSNA provides work to address the factors and recommendations for continuing other support.

The JNSA builds on the evidence and learning from the existing Reducing Infant Mortality Strategy 2019-2024. This had 5 themes:

• Quality, safety and access to services.
• Maternal and infant wellbeing.
• Addressing the wider determinants of health.
• Safeguarding and keeping children safe from harm.
• Providing support for those bereaved and affected by baby loss.

The Board received a presentation on the ‘Safe and Healthy Beginnings Plan’ for 2024-2029.

The chair invited questions from the Board.

The Executive Member noted the effects of austerity, reduced or loss of service provision such as Surestart has had on the level of infant mortality within Manchester and the importance of educating parents and families in good practice and establishing support networks in the care of babies.

Deputy Strategic Director of Children’s Services referred to the governance arrangements of the Children’s Board and ambition to share the strategy. It was reported that the governance would be linked to Start Well work partners to start the sensitive work within communities. Support is needed in the clinical lead within the governance arrangements and help would be welcome.

Decisions

The Board:

1. Noted the contents of the JSNA and Safe and Healthy Beginnings Plan.

2. Approved the JSNA of infant mortality in Manchester.

3. Supports the opportunities for further action described in the JSNA.

4. Reviewed and commented on the priorities outlined in the Safe and Healthy Beginnings Plan (2024-2029).

5. Requested to that an annual update report be submitted on the progress of the JSNA.

Report of the Director of Public Health attached

The Director of Public Health submitted a report providing an update on the work Manchester is undertaking to achieve recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City. The decision taken by the Executive in March 2024 has moved the city into the delivery phase of the programme. The three ‘badges’ priorities identified by children and young people are ‘Safe and Secure’, ‘Place’ and ‘Healthy’. The ‘Healthy’ badge now has an action plan for delivery and was included in the report. The city is also working on three core badges: ‘Culture’, ‘Communication and Collaboration’ and ‘Leadership’.

The action plan has three priority workstreams with the aim to achieve a specific outcome. Theses are: Early Years, Wellbeing and Mental Health and Participation. The report provided detail on the action plan and the governance arrangements in place to monitor the progress being made.

The chair invited questions from the Board.

The Board welcomed the report and the importance of drawing in resources from partners such as the Integrated Care Board. A member asked if a timeline is in place.

Members also welcomed the opinions expressed by the young people of Manchester and the use of resources of health and the importance of the Health and Wellbeing Board and other related forums to drive this proposal forward. Reference was made to the importance of promoting good mental health of young people and play for young children and creating environments that bringing parents together. 

I was reported that the timeline for the badge is 2-4years and Manchester’s ambition is 2 years (Spring 2026) and monitoring will take place every six months to ensure progress is being made.  

The slide presentation was circulated to members of the Board.

Decisions

The Board:

1. Considered and commented on the progress of the Healthy Badge.

2. Agreed that all board members be contacted regarding training to act as an ambassador and champion for children’s rights, especially the right to health (Article 24).

Report of the Executive Director Adult Social Services attached.

The Board considered the report of the Executive Director Adult Social Services that provided an update on the progress Manchester City Council officers have made in preparation for the implementation of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Right Care Right Person (RCRP) approach from 30th September 2024. Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) is a national reform programme for all police forces to retain their focus on crime and prevention to keep our communities safe. Council Officers are engaging with colleagues across our partnerships at a strategic and operational level and have worked to identify and improve care pathways to ensure people receive the most appropriate support by the right organisation at the earliest opportunity. The report included an update on the Council’s readiness with the implementation date of the RCRP to address concerns regarding an increase in the demand for Council services and other partners.

In welcoming the report and the proposals, members of the Board commented on the implementation of internal mechanisms within partner organisations to assess and monitor potential and actual take up of services. 

The chair informed the meeting that the proposal has been closely considered by the Provider Collaboration Board and Manchester Partnership Board, Health Scrutiny and other stakeholders before a decision was made to allow the proposal go be implemented. The monitoring of Right Care Right Person will continue across all stakeholders as implementation continues to allow any concerns to be raised.

Decision

The Board noted the report.