This meeting of the Vulnerable Adults, Health and Communities Policy and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss the council's Winter hot meal provision pilot, its work programme, and Community Pharmacy provisions in Westminster. A report on Community Pharmacy provision was submitted to the committee by Hitesh Patel, the Chief Officer of Community Pharmacy KCW, and a report on the Winter hot meal provision pilot was submitted by Khatija Rasool, Strategic Delivery Lead for Bi-Borough Adult Social Care and Health.

Community Pharmacy Provisions

The committee was scheduled to discuss a report on how socially vulnerable residents in Westminster can access medicines. The report, prepared by Hitesh Patel, the Chief Officer of Community Pharmacy KCW, noted that there are currently 118 community pharmacies in Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, a reduction from 122 in 2022. These pharmacies provide three types of services: Essential Services such as dispensing medicines and providing healthy living advice; Advanced services such as Pharmacy First, Vaccinations, and Blood Pressure measurement; and Local Enhanced services, determined by the local authority or ICS, such as needle exchanges and supervised consumption services. The report argued that community pharmacies are increasingly important sources of healthcare advice and medication:

Community Pharmacy is providing more to face consultations to patients than ever before. Many patients walk into pharmacies and get high quality health information and medication at point of care. Increasingly many patients are referred from either General Practice or NHS111. However, it also noted that while the advice they provide is free, the cost of medication is a barrier for some socially vulnerable people. The report asked the committee to recommend to the Integrated Care Board (ICB) that they provide a service to ensure that low-income, vulnerable residents can access free advice and medication. It noted that similar schemes exist in other parts of London, such as the Self-Care Medicines Schemes in the NCL and NEL ICS areas, and that a new national scheme called 'Pharmacy First' was launched on 31 January 2024.

Winter hot meal provision pilot

The committee was scheduled to review the first year of the council's Winter hot meal provision pilot. A report by Khatija Rasool noted that between November 2023 and March 2024 the council ran a pilot scheme delivering three hot meals per week to residents aged over 65 who were living alone, housebound, in receipt of social care and not in receipt of a lunch call as part of their existing provision. Meals were provided by Care Premier, and cost residents £2 per meal. The report noted that during that time 2,578 meals were delivered to 105 residents. Feedback on the scheme was positive: 73% of service users who participated in a telephone poll and home visits said it had a positive effect on their lives. The report suggested that this could be because of the regularity of the service, the higher quality of the food compared to participants' usual diets, or the fact that hot meals were provided during the coldest months of the year. Some residents said they would prefer more social contact, with one saying:

It would be nice to have someone to sit and eat together with, someone else who also lives alone to have a laugh and chat. The report asked the committee to make recommendations about year two of the pilot, and suggested that the council could leverage existing services and assets, such as community cafes, catering colleges, befriending services, voluntary organisations, and the council's Community Catalyst programme, to improve the service.

2024/2025 Work Programme

The Committee was also asked to discuss its work programme for the 2024-2025 municipal year. The work programme, which had previously been discussed in a meeting on 13 May 2024, scheduled the committee to receive reports on a number of topics, including:

• GP Same Day Access Hubs and Integrated Neighbourhood Teams
• The Changing Futures project
• The Community Equalities Strategy
• Substance Misuse Services
• The Community Hubs Programme
• The Reablement Programme

The committee was asked to consider whether to establish any task groups or single member studies to examine issues in more detail. It was also asked to monitor the recommendations and actions it had made at previous meetings. Since its last meeting, on 7 March 2024, the committee had received reports on the following:

• The Central North West London (CNWL) report on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections.
• An update on the change of control at AT Medics Ltd
• The CLCH (Central London Community Healthcare) NHS Quality Account 2023–2024.
• Changing Lives, Shaping our learning disability journey together: Learning Disability Plan for Adults 2023-2026.
• Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster’s Adult Carers’ Strategy 2023-2028: Empowering carers to live a healthier and happier life.
• Adult Social Care: Making a Difference as a Scrutiny Councillor or Committee - A development guide, Catherine Needham, Catherine Mangan and Dave Mckenna (2024), University of Birmingham.