The Board noted updates on the Family Hub Programme, the Lambeth Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA), the Better Care Fund (BCF), the work to support health and wellbeing in schools and the Director of Public Health’s quarterly report. The Board also approved the Lambeth Health and Wellbeing Board's response to the Change NHS consultation.

Family Hub Programme

The Board were provided with an update on the progress made in developing the Family Hub programme, which is part of the national Family Hub Start for Life programme. The Board noted that a Family Hub does not have to be delivered from a single building and that Lambeth’s Family Hub model will initially be based on a network of services within the five Lambeth Town Centre areas: Brixton, Clapham, Streatham, Vauxhall and Waterloo.

The Board were told that officers had been developing a Family Hub model that would cover provision for children and young people aged 0-19 years, and up to 25 years for those with special educational needs. The model would include a clear and consistent service offer for families; a consistent way of working with families based on the Family Partnership model; workforce training; clear messages delivered via outreach workers and community connectors; designated champions in each locality; Early Help workers based in each locality and locality governance meetings.

Officers also told the Board about the results of the consultation on the model. 5 town centre workshops had been held with a total of 90 stakeholders, including statutory and non-statutory services, health partners, voluntary and community organisations and Lambeth Council staff. In addition, a focus group was held with five local parents; workshops were held with 80 children and young people in schools and 48 responses to the Schools' Youth Voice survey were received.

The results of the consultation showed that there was enthusiasm for regular face to face contact between providers in a locality; that virtual spaces were also valued as a way of sharing information and collaborating; and that there was a need for clearer accountability and ownership of the networks. The consultation also revealed some concerns amongst stakeholders, including concerns about the level of safeguarding issues being held by universal services; a need for increased outreach and targeted youth support; the fact that the Town Centre geographies do not always reflect people’s knowledge of and working in an area; and that the existing offer and communications were too focussed on Brixton. Other concerns included barriers to working with schools; a lack of clarity about what is on offer and where to go to access it; a lack of physical space in some local areas, particularly for young people; and gaps in provision, particularly for 5-11 year olds and for those who “age out” of target age groups.

The Board questioned what data was being used to inform the commissioning of the emotional health and wellbeing offers that would be available through the programme and if the data was backed up by the voice of families who use these services. In response, officers stated that more consultation would be carried out to understand need and that they had been working with South London Listens, which provides emotional wellbeing support and has community representatives.

Supporting Health and Wellbeing in Schools

The Board discussed a report on the work that is being done to support health and wellbeing in schools. The Board were told that schools are supported to develop and maintain healthier school environments through a range of offers and initiatives, including the Healthy Schools London programme; support for Senior Mental Health Leads; and Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum support.

The Healthy Schools London programme aims to support children and young people to develop healthy behaviours. Schools are supported by the Council’s Healthy Schools borough leads to review and improve their health and wellbeing offer. A whole school approach is used and schools are supported to develop and improve their work on healthy eating, drinking, physical activity, active travel, emotional wellbeing and PSHE.

There are currently 78 schools registered with Healthy Schools London, with 41 having previously achieved an award status. The programme is currently being reviewed by the National Children's Bureau with a relaunch set for September 2025. To support the roll out of the updated programme, Lambeth’s Healthy Schools borough leads are reviewing and developing an online support framework. This framework will provide a network for schools to access commissioned services, as well as quality assured providers and resources.

The Board noted that 95.5% of Lambeth schools have a named Senior Mental Health Lead and were told about the range of support provided to Senior Mental Health Leads and PSHE leads in the borough.

The Board were also told about the results of a survey commissioned by Lambeth Public Health that had been offered to all schools in Lambeth. 2,756 children and young people from years 4-10 took part across 24 schools. The survey assessed several areas of health including healthy eating, physical activity, emotional wellbeing, oral health, sexual health, safety and long term health conditions. The initial results of the survey were positive and officers stated that a more in-depth review is currently underway.

The Board discussed the training that was being offered as part of the programme and questioned whether it would be made available to tutors and others working in the private sector. Officers confirmed that the Youth Mental Health First Aid Papyrus training is available to anyone working in Lambeth who works with young people and children. The Board also discussed the Lambeth Health Awards and asked how the level of engagement from schools would be measured. Officers responded that they were working on an engagement plan that would use a phased approach, due to capacity issues within the team. The next stage would involve developing personalised plans for schools based on their individual needs.

Lambeth Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025

The Board discussed a report on the Lambeth Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA). The Board were reminded of their statutory responsibility to publish a PNA, which must be refreshed every three years. The Board were told that the current PNA was published in October 2022 and that the deadline for publishing the next PNA is 1 October 2025.

Officers outlined the three phases that would be involved in developing the next PNA. Phase one involves pre-consultation work, which began in November 2024 and will be completed in May 2025. This phase includes gathering health and demographic information; gathering information from pharmacies; engaging with pharmacy service providers and users and developing a draft PNA. Phase two involves a 60 day public consultation on the draft PNA. Phase three involves reviewing the consultation feedback and publishing the final version of the PNA.

The Board noted that a PNA steering group had been established to oversee the development of the PNA. This group includes representatives from Lambeth Council, Lambeth Together, the Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC), South East London Pharmacy Alliance, Local Medical Committee (LMC), NHS England and Healthwatch Lambeth.

The Board noted that the deadline for publishing the final PNA falls outside of the Board’s meeting schedule. As a result, the Board agreed to delegate authority to the Chair of the Board to agree the final draft, following consultation, and to publish it by 1 October 2025.

Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan Addendum - Quarter 2 2024-25

The Board received a report on the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan Addendum – Quarter 2 submission 2024-25. The Board were asked to note and ratify the quarter 2 report, which had already been submitted to the BCF National Team on 31 October 2024.

The BCF brings together ring-fenced budgets from the Integrated Care Board (ICB)¹ and funding directly paid to local government, such as the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and the improved Better Care Fund (iBCF) grant. A new funding stream, the Additional Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, was added in 2023-25. This funding is available to both the local authority and the ICB to support improvements to hospital discharge processes and to ensure that there is sufficient capacity in the community to support people who are being discharged.

The Board were told that the Council continues to meet all of the national conditions for the BCF and is on target for expenditure. However, officers warned the Board about two risks relating to performance and data reporting:

1. The impact of the implementation of EPIC, a new data collection and reporting system being introduced by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital (GSTT) and King’s College Hospital (KCH). The implementation of this system has caused delays in reporting accurate data.
2. An increase in admissions to care homes.

Officers stated that the Council had mitigations in place and that the quarter 2 data showed a positive response.

Director of Public Health Quarterly Report

The Board discussed the Director of Public Health’s quarterly report, which covered the period October to December 2024.

Health Improvement

• The Board were told about the AT Beacon Project and its work on improving health and wellbeing in the borough.
• The Board noted the launch of phase II of the Lambeth Fruit and Vegetables on Prescription Programme in October, which provides weekly fruit and vegetable vouchers to people with underlying health conditions.
• The Board noted the range of themed health promotion interventions that the project had delivered in the quarter, including activities on cancer screening and mental health awareness, prostate cancer awareness and suicide prevention, and diabetes risk awareness.
• The Board were told about the project’s new loyalty card programme and its ongoing outreach work in the community.
• The Board noted the launch of the project’s new W.I.P.E. It Out campaign, which aims to help prevent winter illnesses, particularly amongst older people.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

• The Board were told about the work that is being done to refresh Lambeth’s Suicide Prevention Strategy.
• The Board noted that the Lambeth Active Together Challenge took place in the quarter.

Building Healthier Communities

• The Board noted that Lambeth’s second Ageing Well Festival took place on 5 October.
• The Board noted that the 2024 Director of Public Health Annual Public Health report on Ageing Well had been launched.
• The Board received an update on the Health and Wellbeing Bus and Health Champions. The Board noted that the bus had delivered over 640 blood pressure checks, 34 mental health sessions and 65 sessions with the welfare advisor in the quarter, a total of over 2,635 engagements and conversations with residents and members of the public.
• The Board noted that the bus had been replaced with a fully electric bus.

Health Protection

• The Board received an update on measles and whooping cough.
• The Board were told about seasonal flu vaccinations and the COVID-19 spring 2025 vaccination programme.
• The Board received an update on cold weather readiness and were told about the actions that are being taken to protect the population from cold related health risks.
• The Board were reminded about Lambeth’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which provides support to rough sleepers and homeless people during extreme cold weather.

Health Services

• The Board received an update from the Combating Drugs Partnership. The Board noted that the Partnership had continued to work across the local authority and with partners to meet the aims of the National Drug Strategy.

Substance Misuse

• The Board noted that the Lead Commissioner for Substance Misuse had continued to develop the Reducing Harms from Chemsex Forum.
• The Board were told about the refreshed Chemsex Needs Assessment, which will cover need and prevalence across Lambeth and Southwark, and which will directly support the recommissioning of chemsex support services in the borough.

Sexual Health

• The Board noted that Lambeth Council had awarded the contracts for the sexual health outreach services for Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. The new services will be delivered by Turning Point, Naz, Spectra, the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN), and the Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO).
• The Board were told about the SHERO Initiative (Sexual Health Empowerment Reproductive Outcomes), which is being delivered by CAHN and aims to engage Black heritage women in conversations about sexual and reproductive health and HIV. The initiative has recruited 13 Community Champions who will be trained to talk to women in community spaces, such as libraries and hairdressers.
• The Board noted the scoping of young people’s sexual health services.
• The Board received an update on the London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP). The Board noted that the current gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) outreach and engagement service has been extended until March 2025. The Board were told about the ongoing outreach work taking place across London and that 12,494 GBMSM had been engaged in face-to-face outreach in the quarter.
• The Board noted that the procurement of the new GBMSM outreach and engagement service is underway. The Board were told that the contract had been awarded to the METRO Charity.
• The Board received an update on the LHPP Black heritage communities needs assessment, which is being delivered by PHAST.
• The Board noted that the Do It London (DIL) campaign focussed on HIV testing, prevention and care during the quarter.
• The Board noted that a new service will be launched in January 2025 to provide Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) appointments for residents and practical training opportunities for primary care clinicians. The service will be delivered by MSI Reproductive Choices and will be based in Brixton, with appointments also available in central London and Lewisham.
• The Board received an update on the work to develop new integrated sexual health service contracts and specifications.
• The Board noted that the new Safe Access Buffer Zone Legislation came into effect on 31 October and were told about the positive impact it has had on protecting patients at the MSI Reproductive Choices clinic in Brixton.
• The Board received an update on the London-wide e-service.
• The Board were told about the new look Find Sexual Health website.
• The Board noted that SHIP training continues to be provided to GPs, practice nurses and nursing associates.
• The Board were told about a new project that is reviewing late HIV diagnosis in South East London.
• The Board noted that the HIV testing schemes in Primary Care are being reviewed.

Lambeth Health Determinants Research Collaboration – HEART

• The Board received an update on the Lambeth Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). The Board were told about the work that is being done to embed research and collaboration at the heart of community and system-wide initiatives.

The meeting ended at 8:02pm.