This meeting was scheduled to include for discussion a range of reports on the health and wellbeing of residents in Rotherham. The agenda included updates on the Rotherham Loneliness Action Plan, the Rotherham Prevention Concordat for Mental Health, and the Rotherham Breastfeeding Friendly Borough Declaration. It also included reports on the work of the Family Hubs and the partnership's preparations for Rotherham's year as Children's Capital of Culture. The most significant items included for discussion were the adoption of the Director of Public Health's annual report on General Practice, the Rotherham Winter Plan 2024-25, and the results of the Rotherham Schools Student Survey 2024.

Please note that this summary is based on the documents provided to attendees in advance of the meeting, and does not reflect what was actually discussed during the meeting, or any decisions that were made.

Director of Public Health Annual Report

The Director of Public Health, Ben Anderson, included a report on General Practice in Rotherham. The report looks at the role of general practice in the prevention and management of long-term health conditions, and how it can support people to stay healthy and access treatment.

Good primary and community care is at the heart of a prevention led health and care system.

Mr Anderson says that high-quality primary and community care is essential for preventing ill-health, and reducing demand on hospitals and social care services. It also has an important role to play in reducing health inequalities.

Rotherham experiences wide inequalities in health, with a 9.2-year gap in life expectancy for men and 10.0 year gap in life expectancy for women between our least and most deprived communities.

The report looks at how population changes in Rotherham will impact demand on general practices in the future, and identifies the capacity needed now and in the future to meet that demand. It uses data from NHS Digital on 20 long-term health conditions and looks at the quality of care provided by general practices in Rotherham for each condition, identifying areas where the proportion of patients with met need is lower than the national average.

Winter Plan 2024-25

Chris Edwards, the Executive Place Director of the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, was scheduled to present the Winter Plan 2024-25, which included details of the challenges the system faced during the winter of 2023-24 and the plans that are being put in place to address them this winter.

High incidences of acute respiratory infections, flu peaked in January, alongside D&V (impacting on acute beds and care home closures). Covid not a significant factor last year (end of testing)

The report also included details of the investments being made to support the plan, including Better Care Fund money to support additional appointments in primary care, support for people to be cared for at home, additional winter beds with therapy support, social care resources to support hospital discharges, extended hours for discharge transport, and funding for the community ready lounge.

Rotherham School Students Survey 2024

Bev Pepperdine, Senior Project Officer, Performance & Quality, Children and Young People’s Services, and Lorna Quinn, Public Health Intelligence Principal, were scheduled to present the results of the Rotherham School Student Survey 2024, a survey of students in Years 7 and 10 in all of Rotherham's secondary schools and pupil referral units, and children who are electively home educated. The report is based on responses from 4,641 students, which represents a 62.7% participation rate.

The survey analyses trend data from previous surveys (including 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023 – please note the survey was not undertaken in 2020 and 2021).

The survey is intended to understand the experiences, views, and concerns of children and young people in Rotherham, as well as to provide feedback to service providers and commissioners.

Changes to Arrangements for Rotherham's Child Death Overview Panel

Alex Hawley, Consultant in Public Health, was scheduled to present a report on the Rotherham Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP).

Child Death Overview Panels (CDOPs) have been in existence in England since 2008, and fulfil a statutory function to review every child death (with the exception of stillbirths and planned terminations) of a child resident within their area.

The report reviewed the legislation and guidance on CDOPs, and explained how these have changed in recent years. In particular, the report explained that the primary responsibility for child death reviews has moved from the safeguarding partners to the 'Child Death Review' partners - the local authority and the ICB. The report recommended that the Rotherham CDOP now sit under the Health and Wellbeing Board, and that a new annual report be produced by the CDOP, covering the number of deaths reviewed, key learning, emerging themes, and key activity carried out by the panel. The report also recommended that funding be transferred from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust to fund an additional administrative resource for the CDOP.

It is proposed to augment this Trust resource in order to provide a single consolidated resource for child death review and CDOP administration and management within a single team.

The report concluded by seeking the Board's approval to write to the Housing Minister to express the CDOP's concerns about the impact of poverty and poor housing conditions on child mortality.

Health and Wellbeing Strategy Refresh

Andrew Turvey, Consultant in Public Health, was scheduled to present an update on the work being done to refresh the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The current Strategy ran until 2025. Review process had begun to develop a 10 year Strategy. Likely to have a refresh point in 2030. Seeking alignment with partners’ strategies across the system. Focus on population need and addressing health inequality. Based on evidence and engagement.

The report outlined the work being done by a Health and Wellbeing Strategy Working Group, which is responsible for overseeing the structure, content, and engagement plan for the refreshed strategy. It also described the evidence-gathering process that is being used to inform the development of the new strategy, including a review of existing knowledge, engagement with stakeholders, and a programme of citizen engagement.

Aim 2 - Presentation by Board Sponsors

Claire Smith, of the NHS SYICB, and Toby Lewis, Chief Executive of RDaSH, were scheduled to present on Aim 2 of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy:

All Rotherham people enjoy the best possible mental health and wellbeing and have a good quality of life

They included a summary of the context for mental health and wellbeing in Rotherham, outlining the prevalence of depression, suicide rates, and self-harm rates in the Borough. They also reported on progress against the four strategic priorities for mental health and wellbeing:

• Promote better mental health and wellbeing for all Rotherham people.
• Take action to prevent suicide and self-harm.
• Promote positive workplace wellbeing for staff across the partnership.
• Enhance access to mental health services.

The presentation highlighted a number of areas to be addressed going forward, including strengthening the social media messages and regular messaging going out via neighbourhood e-bulletins to raise awareness of mental health issues, and the need for more regular suicide and self-harm awareness and training sessions. It also emphasised the importance of completing the work of the Task and Finish Group looking at suicide prevention communications and engagement.

Health and Wellbeing Strategy Action Plan Update

Ben Anderson, Director of Public Health, was scheduled to present an update on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy Action Plan.

The current Health and Wellbeing Strategy would end in 2025. All projects were on track with the majority of the action plan “green”. Work would now move to development of the new Strategy.

The update included a summary of progress against each of the four aims of the strategy:

• Aim 1: Every child has the best start in life.
• Aim 2: All Rotherham people enjoy the best possible mental health and wellbeing and have a good quality of life.
• Aim 3: All Rotherham people live well for longer.
• Aim 4: All Rotherham people live in healthy, safe and resilient communities.

The update also included a summary of progress against a number of cross-cutting priorities, including the Better Care Fund.

Consultation for the Safer Rotherham Partnership Plan 2025-28

The report pack included a summary of the planned consultation process for the Safer Rotherham Partnership Plan 2025-28.

The Safer Rotherham Partnership brings together partner organisations to tackle crime and community safety threats across the Borough so that people are safe and feel safe.

The report provided a list of the organisations that are part of the partnership, as well as an overview of the information being used to inform the review of the Partnership Plan, including crime data and community safety information, and the results of consultations with a range of stakeholders. The report also included a list of the crime and community safety issues that will be considered in the review, and explained that these will be used to inform a Joint Strategic Intelligence Assessment (JSIA).

Rotherham Combatting Drugs Partnership Report 2024

The report pack included the Rotherham Combatting Drugs Partnership Report 2024, a progress report on the work of the Partnership.

As part of the 2021 drugs strategy: From Harm to Hope, every local area across England was requested to form a Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP). These partnerships bring together a range of local partners - including enforcement, treatment, recovery, and prevention – and provide a single setting for understanding and addressing shared challenges related to drug-related harm, based on local context and need.

The report outlined the aims, vision, governance, and membership of the Rotherham Combatting Drugs Partnership. It also included details of its subgroups, which take a lead on specific areas of work:

• Children and Young Peoples CDP Subgroup.
• Dual Diagnosis Subgroup.
• Drug and Alcohol Related Death review panel and Local Drug Information System.
• Data and Digital Group.
• Drug and Alcohol Grant Project Board.

The report also included a summary of the key findings from the Rotherham Drug and Alcohol Joint Needs Assessment 2022, details of the Rotherham CDP’s local delivery plan, and progress updates on the outcomes that are being used to measure the partnership’s progress, including the number of adults and children in treatment, and drug misuse deaths.

Small Grants for Carers Wellbeing

Katy Lewis, Carers Strategy Manager, was scheduled to present a report on the Small Grants for Carers Wellbeing programme.

The purpose of this report is to detail the outputs and outcomes achieved from a grant programme intended to improve the health and wellbeing of unpaid carers in Rotherham.

The report provided details of how £100,000 of Better Care Fund money was allocated to small to medium-sized voluntary and community groups.

The opportunity to apply for a grant of up to £5,000 was advertised on the Council website and by Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) throughout May, June and July 2023.

A total of £82,651 was allocated to 19 groups, with 9 groups receiving the maximum amount of £5,000.

Grant conditions stated that projects and activities must be based on at least one of three wellbeing themes which were: connecting, being active, and learning and opportunity.

The report outlined the key issues and outcomes from the grant programme, including that an estimated total of 830 individuals benefitted from the projects, and that several of the participating groups chose to target their projects towards carers from underrepresented groups, such as LGBTQ+ carers and carers from ethnic minority communities. The report included details of how each of the 19 participating groups used the money, the number of people they supported, and the impact of their work on the four wellbeing outcomes:

• Physical wellbeing.
• Mental wellbeing.
• Emotional wellbeing.
• Social wellbeing.

Better Care Fund (BCF)

The agenda included for discussion the Better Care Fund Quarter 2 Template for 2024/25.

The purpose of this report is to confirm the content of the BCF Quarter 2 Template which has been submitted to NHS England regarding the performance, capacity and demand and actual activity of Rotherham’s Better Care Fund Plan for 2024/25.

The report provided details of the national conditions that the plan must meet, as well as progress updates on four metrics:

• Avoidable admissions.
• Falls.
• Discharge to normal place of residence.
• Residential Admissions.

The report also included details of the assumptions that have been made about capacity and demand in Rotherham, the actual activity to support hospital discharges and admission avoidance, and the expenditure and outputs for BCF funded schemes.

Rotherham Public Place Board Partnership Business

The agenda included the minutes of meetings of the Rotherham Public Place Board held on 21st August, 8th September, and 16th October 2024. The minutes of these meetings summarise what was discussed at those meetings, and the decisions that were made.

Rotherham Place Board ICB Business

The agenda included the minutes of meetings of the Rotherham Place Board ICB Business held on 21st August, 18th September, and 16th October 2024. The minutes of these meetings summarise what was discussed at those meetings, and the decisions that were made.