Report of the Director of Public Health and Medical Director, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning

Over the past few weeks, the Director of Public Health, council colleagues and other partners have been developing the local Manchester Living Fairly and Safely with Covid draft plan. This will be circulated to the Committee shortly for comments before it goes to the Council Executive on 16 March.

In advance of the meeting the Director of Public Health and Medical Director, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, will also circulate their usual summary presentation on the latest available data relating to Manchester COVID-19 rates and the Manchester Vaccination Programme.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Health and the Medical Director, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning that described that following recent national announcements the Director of Public Health, council colleagues and other partners had been developing the local Manchester Living Fairly and Safely with Covid draft plan. This draft plan had been circulated to Members for consideration in advance of the meeting.

Key points and themes in the plan included:

·         Summary of our Covid-19 response so far;

·         Covid-19 Inequalities;

·         Epidemiology, including possible future scenarios;

·         National Living Safely with Covid-19 Strategy key information;

·         Building a shared understanding of what ‘living safely and fairly with Covid-19’ meant for Manchester – our approach, what we would do and inequalities considerations;

·         Local Governance arrangements;

·         Our 12-point plan for Living Safely and Fairly with Covid-19 in Manchester; and

·         Resource requirements.

The Committee further 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:

·         The latest headline figures for the 7 days ending 1 March 2022; and

·         An update on the vaccination programme with particular reference to actions taken by Neighbourhood Teams to increase uptake across Wards, vaccine breakdown by ethnicity, case studies and feedback.

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

·         To welcome the local Manchester Living Fairly and Safely with Covid draft plan, noting that it included actions to address inequalities and fairer access to services;

·         Welcoming the information relating to the newsletter and the inclusion of the trusted voice that had been used to promote the vaccination in local communities, adding this model needed to be rolled out across other areas;

·         Noting the prevalence of Covid cases in Manchester and how this could be related to increased social mixing and testing behaviours;

·         Was there capacity within the existing teams to respond to any future wave of a Covid variant;

·         Noting the removal of free testing and the importance of recognising that Omicrom was still present;

·         Were Officers confident that Care Home settings were supported to manage any future outbreaks;

·         The challenge in monitoring COVID-19 in future and the need to clarify how the Committee would scrutinise this; and

·         Further information was sought on the Pakistani Sounding Board.

The Director of Public Health advised that the relaxation of the national restriction rules and the subsequent increase in social mixing would result in an increase in positive cases, adding that the vaccination was the best way to protect people from serious illness. He advised that following the decline in testing the team were now reliant on ONS (Office for National Statistics) data, noting that there were challenges associated with how this data was reported. He advised that the intention was to establish a bespoke local system to accurately monitor infection rates. He advised that a further national announcement was expected in the week commencing 21 March 2022 regarding the provision of LFT testing for vulnerable people, adding that all hospital staff; social care staff and hospital patients continued to be tested. In response to the questions raised regarding Care Homes, he stated that any patient to be discharged into a care home from a hospital was tested and good relationships had been established in Manchester to respond quickly and effectively to any outbreak in a Care Home setting. He further added that this area of work and locally developed response would be subject to a peer review as it had been recognised nationally as good practice.

The Public Health Consultant advised that the Health Protection Team and the Response Hub would be retained in the event they were required as a result of a further wave or variant. She stated that when not in a response mode these teams would continue their work on wider health protection projects. She commented that the local helpline would be retained to offer advice and guidance to both residents and schools. 

The Consultant in Public Health Medicine provided a response to the comment raised regarding the Pakistani Sounding Board by stating that it had been the decision of the members of the Board who had agreed to extend the Board to include members of the South Asian population. She added that following discussions, it was decided to establish a specific Pakistani Sounding Board which was established last year.

The Deputy Leader stated that the Manchester Living Fairly and Safely with Covid draft plan was a comprehensive document that reflected and built upon the learning and good practice developed over the previous two years. She paid tribute to everyone involved in the production of the plan and supported the work described to address inequalities. She reiterated her call to Government for a fair, sustainable funding plan to ensure that the city could deliver on its ambitions for the city and improve the health outcomes for all Manchester residents.

Decision

To note the report.