The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board met to discuss end-of-life care in Sandwell, men's mental health provisions, and the board's work programme. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the Sandwell Council House, Oldbury. Councillor Elizabeth Giles, Chair of the committee, was listed as chair for the meeting.

End of Life Care Provision in Sandwell

The board was scheduled to consider end-of-life care provision in Sandwell. A report was prepared to provide an update on the collective work for Sandwell on end-of-life care from a public health perspective, including actions as per the six promises of the current Sandwell Better Endings End-of-Life Care Strategy 2021-26. The report was intended to give an overview of the current workplan and activities which support Sandwell residents to talk about death and dying, end-of-life care, and bereavement support.

The six promises of the Sandwell Better Endings End-of-Life Care Strategy 2021-26 are:

• Conversations in preparation
• Talking openly about death and dying
• Knowledge for all
• A confident workforce
• Care designed with our communities
• Policy

According to the report, a Health Needs Assessment completed by Public Health in 2024 reported that despite the fall in the proportion of deaths in hospital, there was still a higher proportion of deaths in hospital for Sandwell residents compared to England (47.2% for Sandwell compared with 43.4% for England). One of the key aims was to ensure that individuals have an informed choice about their preferred place of death.

Achievements against each of the strategy promises included:

• Conversations in preparation: Dying Matters Awareness Week events in 2024 had 44 attendees, and in 2025 this increased to 149.
• Talking openly about death and dying: Four will-writing workshops were attended by over 90 people, and 1,750 bereavement leaflets were printed.
• Knowledge for all: Attendance at a Faith Sector Network meeting, information stands and workshops at events, and a bereavement leaflet and updated bereavement directory and websites for Sandwell.
• A confident workforce: St Elizabeth Hospice Training was completed by the Healthy Sandwell team, plus a session held during Dying Matters Awareness Week 2025 attended by 42 people. A staff training event at Sandwell Hospital in May 2024 was attended by 98 staff, and 35 people completed the Compassionate Communities Foundation training.
• Care designed with our communities: Development of a Compassionate Communities Action Plan and embedding end-of-life care within other Public Health programmes.
• Policy: Sandwell Council Bereavement Policy to include Compassionate Leave and Bereaved Support Guide, and the launch of online training by the National Bereavement Service in 2025.

The Compassionate Communities network, having mapped and scored against the 14 measures that form part of the Compassionate City Charter status action plan, were due to meet for a face-to-face workshop event in October 2025. This workshop was intended to enable the network to assign responsibilities and tasks against the action plan.

Men's Mental Health

The board was scheduled to consider developments in men's mental health provisions. The report provided an assurance on the public health approach to men's mental health in Sandwell, including an overview of the Men's Mental Health and Wellbeing Community Programme commission and wider programme of work being facilitated by Public Health to support the improvement of men's mental health in Sandwell.

The report stated that Sandwell experiences a higher estimated prevalence of common mental health disorders, higher rates of newly diagnosed depression, and a higher utilisation of inpatient mental health facilities compared to the West Midlands region and England as a whole.

The programme of work supports several of the Sandwell Better Mental Health Strategy 2024-29 and the Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-25 recommendations:

• Improve the understanding of mental health and wellbeing and raise awareness of the support available.
• Ensure mental health services and community-based solutions can support all of Sandwell's diverse communities.
• Work with the voluntary and community sector to promote good wellbeing.
• Reduce loneliness and social isolation.
• Work in partnership to fulfil the zero suicides ambition.
• Encourage a better awareness of suicide prevention within local organisations and our communities.
• Reduce the chances of suicide in high-risk populations.

The Men's Mental Health and Wellbeing Community Programme was approved in December 2024. The procurement of this programme is currently in progress and a provider should be in place for a start date in September 2025. The project will respond to the priorities of the public consultation on men's mental health, which took place from August to October 2024.

The programme will offer non-clinical provision using a preventative approach, delivering a range of mental health and wellbeing programmes/activities in a community that enable men to manage and improve their mental health and wellbeing aiming to achieve the following outcomes:

• Reduce the risk of suicide for men.
• Increase awareness men's wellbeing and where to access support.
• Reduce social isolation.
• Reduce the impact of stigma relating to men's mental health.
• Deliver an inclusive and accessible offer within communities.
• Reduce the need for crisis intervention by Improving early access to preventative mental health services and activities.
• Improvement in self-reported wellbeing.

The report also detailed a wider programme of work, including:

• Podcasts, videos, infographics.
• A Men's Mental Health webpage on the Healthy Sandwell website.
• A range of resources and materials which will be inclusive and representative of Sandwell's diverse communities and cultural influences.
• A range of resources that are health literate and offer easy read, British sign language materials, and use of a range of media for people who are neurodiverse, and/or have English as an additional language (EAL).
• A Men's Mental Health Resilience Toolkit this will be developed by men for men to use when they need support.
• A West Bromwich Albion (WBA) Match Day Event working in partnership with WBA will reach approximately 22/23K home fans at the match day on 1 November 2025.
• Baggies Wellbeing Cards with QR codes to the Mental Health and Wellbeing offer.
• Men Matter (Portrait campaign) Sandwell Men offering wellbeing messages and messages of hope, suicide prevention awareness campaign.
• Message to stranger's video and wellbeing cards (intergenerational project with local schools).
• Community Mental Health Training to be developed through coproduction with our communities a new innovative community training offer.
• 5 Ways to Wellbeing Campaign a co-produced campaign to promote the 5 ways to Wellbeing and demonstrate practical approaches for integrating them into everyday life.
• Suicide Safe Communities a targeted programme within the six towns to raise awareness of suicide prevention, offering free suicide prevention training, resources and support to break down the barriers and stigma of suicide.
• Refresh of Sandwell's Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2030 Stakeholder event in October 2025, targeted communications and media campaign on men matter, video content, resources and develop priorities and actions to achieve our ambition of zero suicides in Sandwell by 2030.

Work Programme

The board was scheduled to note the work programme that set out matters to be considered by the Board in 2025-2026 and consider whether any changes or additions were required to its work programme.

The work programme details the work of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board for the 2025/ 26 municipal year and is reviewed periodically.

A public consultation ran on the Consultation Hub from 4 April to 9 May 2025. The link to the consultation was shared via the Council's Facebook page, in staff comms, with elected members and with schools. Chief officers were also consulted at the leadership meetings on their views on where scrutiny could have a valuable input into their strategic priorities. At an annual work programming event, held in June 2025 and involving chief officers, executive members and key partners, the Board considered the consultation responses.

Items listed on the work programme included:

• End of Life Care Provision in Sandwell
• Men's Mental Health
• Adult Statutory Complaints Report
• Sandwell Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report
• Tracking and monitoring of scrutiny recommendations
• CQC Inspection Findings¹
• Sandwell's Dementia Strategy
• Tackling Obesity
• Adult Social Care Improvement Plan
• Carers' Offer