(Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

In the interest of transparency Councillor Humphries declared that she worked for the Thornbury Centre (Minute 30).

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Asad Shah – 07970 414022)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

There were no referrals to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The report of the Executive Director of Strategy, Transformation, Primary and Community (Document “L”) provides an update on progress made since October 2022 in helping people understand the services available from their GP practice and accessing support when they need it.

It also highlights areas of improvement and challenges that continue, including those that are not just local to our geography.  The report also asks for support from members in our public information and awareness work to help people access the right support from the right health professional.

Recommended –

(1)        The Committee receive this update on GP Access.

(2)        The Committee receive another report in 12 months’ time.

(Clare Smart - 07967 509276)

The report of the Executive Director of Strategy, Transformation, Primary and Community (Document “L”) provided an update on progress made since October 2022 in helping people understand the services available from their GP practice and accessing support when they need it.

It also highlighted areas of improvement and challenges that continued, including those that were not just local to our geography. The report also sought support from members in our public information and awareness work to help people access the right support from the right health professional.

The Associate Director was in attendance and at the invitation of the Chair, gave a synopsis of the report. She explained the feedback on GP practice access that had been received through the public involvement work, through insight from Healthwatch Bradford and District, hearing from the experiences shared by members and national data such as through the NHS GP Patient Survey. GP practices were offering significantly more appointments than ever before and doing so in a range of flexible ways that reflected clinical need as well as personal preference.  While more appointments were being offered, and with a wider range of healthcare professionals, the demand was higher than the total available appointments. The focus went beyond only addressing people’s concerns based on personal experience or wider perceptions about access to GP practices, with a focus on the quality of access to the right healthcare professional and in the right setting. There were ongoing challenges that continued to impact on the ability to recruit and fill roles across the place.  This in turn led to an increased workload for existing teams, while ensuring the safe care of people. PCNs were based on GP-registered lists and are made up of practices, typically serving 30,000 to 50,000 people.  This could include enhanced access outside of normal working hours, while benefitting from a broader team of healthcare staff. Working with members and communities it was important to help people make the best and most appropriate use of their whole GP practice team.  This was a longer-term behaviour change programme that needed a consistent approach to community awareness and education as well as helping people understand the changing model of delivery to help protect the future sustainability of GP practices. The work of colleagues in GP practices should be recognised and to dispel the myth that fewer appointments were being offered when a record number of appointments now being booked. 

A Q& A session ensued:

·         Information was sought on the significant frustration within communities due to people not being able to secure appointments with their local GP practices?

o   Appointments were given according to the need of medical circumstances however the general census within the overall GP practices was that number of appointments that were being given were higher than expected. Furthermore, greater discussions were ongoing with the public on how to improve services in the future;

·         What was being done to override the public’s misconception of poor services?

o   Social media was a difficult area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

The Report of the Director of Public Health (Document “M”) presents an update on Living Well whole systems approach to obesity and wellbeing in Bradford District. It outlines the rationale for Living Well, key elements of the approach and provides an update on the key achievements by all the direct delivery projects so far.

Recommended –

(1)       That members note the depth, breadth, and detail of the Living Well Approach to improve health and wellbeing across the Bradford District as detailed in the report.

(2)       That members continue to support Living Well in their work and in their communities.

(3)       That a further progress report is made in 12 months’ time to this committee.

(Rose Dunlop – 01274 431915)

Resolved:-

That this item be deferred to the Committee’s meeting on Thursday 23 November 2023.

To be actioned by: Overview and Scrutiny Lead

The Report of the Director of Legal and Governance (Document “N”) presents the Committee’s work programme 2023/24.

Recommended –

(1)       That the Committee notes and comments on the information presented in Appendix A

(2)       That the Work Programme 2023/24 continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

(Caroline Coombes – 01274 432313)

The Report of the Director of Legal and Governance (Document “N”) presented the Committee’s work programme 2023/24.

No resolution was passed on this item.