Report of Director of Workforce and Organisation Development, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning and Director of Policy, Performance and Reform Manchester City Council

Covid-19 has further reminded us of the differential impact of health issues on the communities who live in Manchester. This report describes how the pandemic has affected different communities in the city and the actions we are taking to respond to this.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Workforce and Organisation Development, MHCC and the Director of Policy, Performance and Reform Manchester City Council that described that clear evidence had emerged that COVID- 19 was having a disproportionate impact on some communities who already experienced health inequalities in our city. BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic), disabled and people in poverty were more likely to contract Coronavirus and had poorer mortality outcomes. The longer term health impacts were not known yet but it was expected that the socio-economic impacts and impacts of higher mortality rates not directly linked to COVID- 19 would also be within these communities, unless there were radical changes to the approach to health and social care.

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included: -

·         How the pandemic had affected different communities in the city and the actions that were to be taken to respond to this;

·         Describing the strategy for planning ahead and describing the workstreams that had been identified to progress the city’s recovery;

·         Each workstream involved a significant portfolio of work, and each was in the process of identifying short, medium and longer term priority actions;

·         Describing the requirement to continue to meet the statutory duty under the Equality Act 2010 to consider equality implications when reviewing policies and practices and introducing new ones through an equality impact assessment;

·         Equality Impact Assessments would be used against each of the Council’s relevant practical recovery actions;

·         Describing that actions identified across Health and Care to address inequalities and provided a summary of the ‘Community Cell’ that had been established to lead the out of hospital/care system within the City during the period of COVID-19 response and recovery;

·         The Manchester COVID-19 Response Group (“the CRG”) (previously called the Manchester COVID-19 Locality Planning Group (MCLPG)) fulfilled the role of the Manchester Health Protection Group, which was the established group for all health protection issues in Manchester;

·         Addressing inequalities/Health Equity was a key workstream under this group, with the purpose of that workstream was to improve experiences of, and outcomes for, communities that suffered disproportionate adverse impacts from COVID-19;

·         The report described the governance and reporting arrangements.; and

·         Workforce specific measures, noting staff risk assessments were being undertaken across MHCC, MCC, MLCO and other partner organisations to address the need to ensure that ‘at risk’ staff, including BAME staff were protected.

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

·         Consideration needed to be given to the messages and imagery used when discussing older residents to ensure this was done in a dignified manner;

·         Noting the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BAME citizens and areas of socio-economic deprivation;

·         Consideration needed to be given to ensure all sources of advice and information was accessible to all citizens;

·         Welcoming the reported governance arrangements; and

·         What were the barriers and challenges to progressing this important area of work.

The Equalities Lead noted the comment regarding the representation of older people and stated that the Age Friendly Board had met with the Chief Executive and Leader to ensure any communications were positive and age friendly and this had been accepted. He further stated that all of the national COVID-19 data and analysis undertaken of factors such as incidents of deaths within BAME communities, gender, socio-economic indicators and lifestyle factors would be reviewed and used to inform the local understanding and response.

The Equalities Lead further stated that emergency Hub had been established very quickly as the pandemic emerged, however acknowledged the comment regarding inclusive accessibility. He reassured the Committee that a review of this had been undertaken and the lessons learnt would inform any response in the event of second wave.

The Executive Member for Adult Health and Wellbeing stated that this area of work was not just a health matter but rather a wider issue that incorporated a range of factors and considerations, such as housing, planning and employment opportunities. All of which influenced and determined the health outcomes of residents, and as such needed to be considered in all strategies, plans and decisions. Further noting the detrimental impact that any economic down turn would have on the city and its residents.

The Director of Workforce & Organisation Development, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning stated that this was a very substantial and complex issue with many contributing factors, with consideration also needing to be given to the issue of racism when planning and considering next steps. She described that the work described was not a ‘box ticking’ exercise, but rather an opportunity to inform and direct the design and delivery of services. She stated that it was important that this agenda was kept at the forefront of all partners and organisations and was maintained as a key priority. She stated the Health and Wellbeing Board had recently considered the report and had agreed to review progress as a regular item.

The Chair stated that the Committee similarly recognised the importance of this work and would continue to review progress against this activity. He advised that update reports would be scheduled on the Work Programme for consideration at an appropriate time.

Decision

To note the report.