The minutes of the meeting held on the 24th of July were approved without discussion. The Board also approved the publication of a supplementary statement to the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA)¹ for Lewisham. The Board noted updates on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) ², the implementation of the Birmingham Lewisham African Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR) ³, and the new Lewisham Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Housing, Health and Adult Social Care Joint Working Protocol

The Board considered a new draft of the Housing, Health and Adult Social Care Joint Working Protocol. Councillor Paul Bell expressed concern about the protocol's lack of focus on the needs of rough sleepers.

Can I just ask, in terms of rough sleepers, I know we're talking about a very specific cohort here, but in terms of rough sleepers, they obviously don't have a Lewisham Homes tenancy, they are by definition homeless and they don't, they're not out of borough, they are in borough. So, where, what, is there any thought as to where that would sit? Because I can't see it in here, and I think it's quite important.

The Director of Housing for Lewisham Council responded that rough sleepers will be supported by the council's Rough Sleeping Initiative.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)

The Board received an update on the JSNA². The Board discussed inequalities in life expectancy, the uptake of health checks, and the impact of the recent cyber-attack on the NHS.

The Director of Public Health reported that:

The exact reasons or cases locally are not yet known; when greater clarification is received, they will report back to the Board.

Implementation of the Birmingham Lewisham African Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR)

The Board received an update on the implementation of the recommendations from the Birmingham Lewisham African Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR).³ The Board discussed the progress that has been made, and the challenges that remain.

The report stated that:

Over the course of the last two years, specific opportunities for action from the BLACHIR report have been the focus of work within the Lewisham Health Inequalities and Health Equity Programme.

New Lewisham Health and Wellbeing Strategy Update

The Board received an update on the progress of the new Lewisham Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The Board discussed the key aims and objectives of the new strategy, and the ambition to have a finalised strategy by December 2024. The board agreed to the new timescales presented.