This meeting was scheduled to include reports on a range of health and wellbeing topics, including the Newham Health Equity Programme, the Eat Well Newham scheme, the Healthwatch Newham patient information leaflet, the work of the Deaf outreach worker and the annual report of the Newham Safeguarding Adults Board. The meeting was also scheduled to include a verbal update on how North East London Integrated Care System was approaching meeting the needs of Newham's population.

The following topics were scheduled to be discussed during the meeting:

North East London Integrated Care System strategic approaches to meeting Newham population need

A report was scheduled to be presented on how North East London Integrated Care Board (NEL) had been engaging with stakeholders about how maternity and neonatal services in North East London could be developed to meet the changing needs of the local population.

The report pack scheduled for discussion explained that NEL ICB had been working with stakeholders to gain greater in-depth understanding on how maternity and neonatal services in North East London could meet the changing needs of women (pregnant people) and their babies in developing future services, with the intention of providing maternity and neonatal care that was safe, high quality and accessible.

The report pack explained that NEL ICB had worked with stakeholders to consider information from families, NHS staff and community representatives, reviewed service data, and looked at areas such as population growth, inequalities and health needs. The report pack said that, based on that review, a Case for Change had been written to set out their findings and engage with the public for their views, suggestions and feedback on what they found.

The report pack explains that the NEL ICB Case for Change found that in North East London there was a growing population, more complicated pregnancies and births, more babies needing medical care when they were born, and health inequalities that impacted pregnancies, births and babies.

The report pack explained that the Case for Change had identified that the Demand and Capacity Programme commissioned in 2024 would be the starting point for exploring how maternity and neonatal services in North East London could meet the changing needs of women and babies and would inform how services in NEL in the future would meet the needs of local people.

Healthwatch Newham Update

Julie Pal, CEO of Healthwatch Newham, was scheduled to present a report on the work of CommUNITY Barnet, who have been commissioned to deliver the local Healthwatch contract in Newham and the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service from 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2025 inclusive.

The report pack explained that Healthwatch Newham was delivered by a Newham-based central core team of paid staff and volunteers, overseen by an Advisory Board consisting of a partnership of Newham based voluntary, community and statutory organisations. The report pack explained that the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service was subcontracted to Mind in Tower Hamlets, which achieved an award for Equality and Diversity from National Mind in 2020. They are a member of Mind’s Diverse Network Group.

The report pack explained that Healthwatch Newham's delivery was informed by Newham's 50 Steps to a Healthier Borough and the Covid-19 Recovery Strategy, with plans and activities to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for residents. The report pack also said that Healthwatch Newham was delivering a work plan that had been presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board on 3 April 2024.

The report pack explained that Healthwatch Newham provided information in community languages, Easy Read and BSL, and that its staff and volunteers were multi-lingual, skilled and experienced, and thereby building trust and connectivity with seldom-heard communities. The report pack explains that the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service had an Easy Read Toolkit to support people with low levels of literacy.

One of the key topics scheduled for discussion was the Patient Health Systems Information Leaflet.

The report pack explained that Healthwatch Newham had been engaging with local residents and gathering insight, and believed that residents would benefit from a simple Patient Information System leaflet that would inform them of the best service to contact. The report pack said that the plan was to have a copy of the leaflet in every general practice and primary care setting in the borough, and to have it on display in community health settings including pharmacies, dentists and in various reception areas in Newham Hospital.

The report pack explained that:

Poor health literacy and numeracy can have a significant impact on people’s health and wellbeing due to barriers of understanding good health behaviours, accessing services, and being able to follow medical advice or treatment.

The report pack requested that the Health and Wellbeing Board:

comment on the revised design of the Patient Health Systems Information Leaflet as one of the outputs of the Healthwatch Newham 2024-2025 Work Plan and the communications set out in the previous report.

The report pack also provided an update on the Community Listening Ears project, including the results of engagement with Congolese residents, and the work of the Deaf Outreach worker.

Newham Health Equity Programme update

Adeola Agbebiyi, Assistant Director of Public Health, was scheduled to give a verbal update on the projects being progressed as part of the Newham Health Equity Programme (NHEP).

The report pack explained that:

NHEP is a borough-wide programme that supports partners to reduce inequalities in uptake of and outcomes from participating health and care pathways, so that every Newham resident has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.

The report pack went on to say that the programme offered support and tools to simplify and mainstream that process, with the goal of creating a culture of curiosity, learning, and action around identifying and addressing health inequalities towards the creation of an equitable health and care system.

Diet Related Diseases Programme: NHS Opportunities and Challenges

Adeola Agbebiyi, Assistant Director of Public Health, was scheduled to present a report focussed on the Diabetes Prevention and management part of the Diet Related Diseases Programme.

The report pack explained that supporting documentation could be found in the Diabetes in Newham 2022 and a 2024 update, and that all of the information was contained within the PowerPoint presentation in the Supplementary Agenda Pack.

Newham Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB) Annual Report 2023/2024

The final item on the agenda was scheduled to be a presentation of the Newham Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2023/2024. The report was scheduled to be presented by Sola Afuape (NSAB Independent Chair ) and Claire Solley (Director of Quality Assurance, Safeguarding and Workforce Development).

The report pack explained that:

The Annual Report covers the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, and the link to the report can be found here Safeguarding Annual Report. The Care Act 2014, section 43-45 states the need for all local authorities to establish a Safeguarding Adults Board. The Care Act 2014 also states that Safeguarding Adults Board must produce an annual report, and in addition to sending to its member partners and key stakeholders, the Board must send a copy to the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board (H&WB).

The report pack explained that the purpose of the scheduled presentation was to provide the Health and Wellbeing Board with a broad overview of the work undertaken by Newham Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB), including an update on the progress made against the NSAB strategic objectives and priorities: Mental Capacity, Cuckooing, Self-Neglect, and All Age Exploitation (the latter undertaken jointly with the Children’s Partnership).

You can read more about the Newham Health Equity Programme in the [Newham Health Equity programme 2 year report 25127](https://mgov.newham.gov.uk/documents/s178192/Newham+Health+Equity+programme+2+year+report+25127.pdf) and [202412_NHEP HCP two year report update](https://mgov.newham.gov.uk/documents/s178195/202412_NHEP+HCP+two+year+report+update.pdf) documents on the Newham Council website.