Report of the Director of Workforce & Organisation Development, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning and the Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Manchester City Council/Manchester Health & Care Commissioning

This report focuses on how the pandemic has affected different communities in the city and the actions we are taking to reduce disparities in severe disease and death for those ‘at risk’ communities.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Workforce and Organisation Development, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning (MHCC) and the Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Manchester City Council/MHCC that reflected on how the pandemic had affected different communities in the city and the actions being taking to reduce disparities in severe disease and death for those ‘at risk’ communities.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·         Describing the identified Covid risk factors;

·         Analysis of Manchester hospital data;

·         Known Covid infection rates in Manchester;

·         Geographic and economic considerations;

·         The objectives of CHEM;

·         The purpose and remit of the CHEM programme; and

·         An update on the Manchester bid for the Community Champions Fund, a fund made available to support people shown to be most at risk from COVID-19.

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

·         Noting that the report highlighted the health inequalities and outcomes and the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 had on BAME and disabled citizens, residents in vulnerable situations and areas of socio-economic deprivation;

·         Noting the failure of the government to acknowledge or respond to the issues described;

·         Manchester had recognised the issue and was actively responding to this;

·         Providing examples of the fear experienced by BAME residents as a result of COVID-19;

·         Noting the valued and important role of the many Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) groups;

·         Recognising the importance of Covid Community Champions and all activity to meaningfully engage with the different communities that existed across the city;

·         Consideration needed to be given to raising awareness regarding COVID-19 and offering appropriate advice for those residents living in multigenerational households;

·         Consideration needed to be given as to how myths surrounding the COVID-19 vaccination were addressed so as not to perpetuate them, especially when using social media;

·         Consideration should be given to utilising the lessons learnt from previous Public Health campaigns, such as the smoking cessation campaign to support this activity;

·         Were all groups and existing established communities engaged with, such as young people, East European, South Asian and Carers;

·         Noting the recent media attention that had been given to the Marcus Rashford campaign, consideration should be given to replicating this approach to promote the vaccination programme;

·         The existing relationships that existed between social landlords and their tenants should be utilised to promote the vaccination, noting the importance of using all existing trusted relationships in this activity;

·         Noting the importance of building and maintaining trust with local communities; and

·         Was vaccination take up data available at a ward level.  

The Committee welcomed Charles Kwaku-Odoi, Caribbean and African Health Network who stated that they were working with CHEM and key trusted community contacts to promote this work. He stated that the BAME community had experienced racism and inadequate health experiences over many years that had resulted in a mistrust of services. He stated that by working in partnership, sharing local knowledge and experience they were collectively seeking to address this and improve the experience and health outcomes for BAME citizens. He described that a number of webinars had been delivered that had been well attended, hosted by GPs from the BAME community to discuss the issue of the vaccination. He informed the Committee that these had provided credible and evidence-based information to those attending and addressed the many misconceptions surrounding the vaccination, adding that the feedback obtained indicated these events had been very successful.

The Committee then welcomed Donna Miller, BHA for Equality who supported the comments from the previous speaker by recognising the importance of being honest and transparent so as to develop trust and confidence in services amongst BAME citizens. She described the importance of credible, competent and trusted figures in the community to deliver this message, noting that this included faith leaders, schools and local GPs. She described that BHA also worked closely with the local CCG to articulate the voice of the BAME community.

The Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Co-Chair of the Covid Health Equity Group acknowledged the comments regarding the need to ensure the messenger is as important as the message and appropriate consideration was given to this when seeking to engage with the many different community groups. She described that it was understood that digital platforms and social media were not always the most appropriate medium to reach groups, noting that other methods, such as direct phone calls, using the appropriate language had been used to reach out to people. She further described that they were working closely with the local Neighbourhood Teams and welcomed any information or support that Members could offer as she acknowledged that Members had relationships and contacts with local groups that could be utilised to support this important work.

The Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Co-Chair of the Covid Health Equity Group thanked the Committee for all of their constructive comments and support for the work that was being undertaken. She stated that all of the issues and suggestions raised to progress this work would be taken away from the meeting and discussed by the group. 

The Director of Workforce & Organisation Development, MHCC & Co-Chair of Covid Health Equity Group stated that this would be an ongoing, long term piece of work that included activities and projects to ensure all community groups, including young people, carers, the Chinese and East European community were included and consulted, adding that it was recognised that different groups experienced different health outcomes and had different needs. She stated that an Impact Report would be produced and reported to the Committee at the appropriate time that would evidence and report on this activity.

The Director of Workforce & Organisation Development, MHCC & Co-Chair of Covid Health Equity Group further advised the Committee that vaccination take up data was being collated and analysed that would inform appropriate targeted campaigns. The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing stated when available this information would be shared with local Members.

In concluding this item of business, the Chair on behalf of the Committee acknowledged the importance of this work and thanked all of the officers and the VCSE guest for attending. He stated that the scale and challenge of this work was recognised, and the Committee would welcome a progress report at an appropriate time.

Decisions

The Committee;:

1.  Note the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has on BAME and disabled citizens, residents in vulnerable situations and areas of socio-economic deprivation, and progress to date on tackling these disproportionalities.

2.   Endorse the recommendation that respective partner organisations prioritise supporting the objectives of this programme as part of their response to Covid.