The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel meeting will include a discussion about the performance of vaccination services in Greenwich compared to other London boroughs and an update on preparations for an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Adult Social Care - Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assurance Preparation

The panel will receive a report on the preparations that have been made ahead of an inspection of adult social care services that will be undertaken by the Care Quality Commission.

The inspection, the first in over a decade, will examine how effectively the council supports the health and wellbeing of residents. It will assess the council's performance in four key areas: how it works with people, how it provides support, how it ensures safety, and its leadership and governance.

The report states that:

Given the national; regional and local context for Adult Social Care being: funding uncertainty; demand that is resulting in waiting lists; variable provider quality; limited resident feedback, and an evolving CQC framework we self assess locally as having Good and Excellent services but will test ourselves against the peer review.

The report also notes that although Greenwich Council is not directly responsible for the provision of vaccination services, there are a number of challenges facing social care in the borough. These include significant financial pressures, an increase in demand for services after the covid-19 pandemic, and uncertainty about how the CQC inspection framework will be applied.

Vaccination Rates Update

The panel will also be asked to note a report on the uptake of vaccinations in Greenwich, and to consider its implications.

The report highlights the low uptake of vaccinations in Greenwich. The report notes that:

Currently, both locally and nationally, we are seeing vaccination rates at their lowest point for a number of years.

It suggests that this is due to a number of factors, including:

• Challenges and pressure on healthcare providers, especially primary care services, since the covid-19 pandemic.
• Difficulties accessing NHS services.
• Concerns, both real and perceived, about accessing NHS services.
• Staff shortages within the NHS
• Vaccine misinformation and hesitancy, particularly concerning the MMR vaccine.

The report describes a number of initiatives designed to improve vaccination rates in the borough, including:

• The commissioning of two pharmacies in each borough to offer childhood vaccinations.
• A new incentive scheme for GPs to run vaccination clinics in community settings.
• The creation of an Immunisation Co-ordinator role, based within the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB).
• The appointment of HRCH as the borough's 'school-aged immunisation service provider'.

The report notes that:

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is not the responsible commissioner for Immunisations, but works in partnership with the NHS and providers to support uptake in our communities.