Health inequalities: Place and Wellbeing Programme Board minutes - June 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Linda Bauld (Chair), Chief Social Policy Advisor, Scottish Government
• Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council, North Ayrshire Council
• Neil Cardwell, Collaboration and Engagement Team Leader, Scottish Government
• David Cowan, Head of Regeneration, Architecture and Place Unit, Scottish Government
• Rhea Crichton, Policy and Business Analyst, NHS National Services Scotland
• Eilidh Currie (Speaker), Analyst, Scottish Government
• Calum Irving, Deputy Director, Strategic Third Sector and Public Service Leadership, Scottish Government
• Sheila McCole (deputy), Non-Executive Member, NHS Tayside
• Gerard McCormack, Head of Transformation, Performance, and Improvement, Improvement Service
• Niamh O’Connor (Speaker), Deputy Director, Strategic Capability Division, Scottish Government
• Gordon Paterson, Director of Social Care, NHS Education for Scotland
• Pamela Smith (deputy), Place and Wellbeing Head of Service, Public Health Scotland
• Kerri Todd, Head of Health Improvement, NHS Lanarkshire

Apologies

• Angela Davidson, Deputy Director for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing, Scottish Government
• Chik Collins, Director, The Glasgow Centre for Population Health
• Carol Potter, Chief Executive, NHS Fife
• Dona Milne, Director of Public Health, NHS Lothian
• Ellie Crawford, Primary Care, Scottish Government
• Eddie Follan, Chief Officer Health and Social Care , COSLA
• George Booth, Administrative Officer, Scottish Government
• Lorna Birse-Stewart, Chair, NHS Tayside
• Lynn MacMillan, Head of Health Inequalities Unit, Scottish Government
• Lynne Nicol, Deputy Director Planning and Quality, Scottish Government
• Marion Bain, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Government
• Richmond Davies, (deputy), Head of Service, Public Health Scotland
• Ruth Glassborow, Director Place and Wellbeing, Public Health Scotland
• Susan Gallacher, Deputy Director GP practice, Scottish Government
• Sam Martens, Policy and Business Analyst, NHS National Services Scotland
• Susan Paxton, SDSC Acting Director, Scottish Community Development Centre
• Úna Bartley, Place and Wellbeing Lead, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome and Introductions

Linda Bauld welcomed members and guests to the meeting and introduced Councillor Marie Burns, (North Ayrshire Council). Apologies and deputies have been noted below.

Linda Bauld explained that the agenda had been rearranged to accommodate the detailed analysis of NHS Board Anchor Baselines led by Eilidh Currie then followed by the normal running order of the agenda.

Draft report of analysis of NHS Board Anchor baselines

Eilidh Currie summarised some of the key findings from the draft report of the baselines submitted by NHS Boards in relation to their Anchor activity.

Eilidh Currie noted further changes that will be made to the report, including incorporating census data as it becomes available over the summer. The report will be finalised in August 2024. Eilidh Currie also noted that a light touch review of the metrics will take place over the summer, with any changes agreed in the Autumn.

The Board was asked to comment on the proposed next steps including the list of suggested stakeholders who will be sent to disseminate the report.

Gordon Paterson suggested that the report should be issued to the Proactive and Preventative Care Programme Board. Pamela Smith felt that the report could set out more in terms of next steps and expectations of Boards, and the data could also be set against local data on demographics to understand the opportunities around workforce planning. GP noted that work is progressing between COSLA and SG on delivering Fair Work in Social Care building on the publication of this report https://www.fairworkconvention.scot/our-report-on-fair-work-in-social-care.

Marion Bain commented that that the report could be complemented by case studies to see the impact of the work, for example, on target demographic groups.

Kerri Todd noted the variability across boards and the challenge of achieving a meaningful national overview, and how the metrics can drive change.

Calum Irving suggested sharing the final report with DTAS, the Alliance and Third Sector Interfaces.

Shelia McCole highlighted the importance of establishing baselines to keep momentum going. Shelia McCole also noted that it would be interesting to know how well engaged the Boards are with local authorities.

Linda Bauld  agreed it would be good to have a breadth of case studies on how NHS Boards are operating as Anchor institutions and the need to keep the data and metrics under review.

Caitlin Frickleton reassured the Group that a series of meetings with Boards was underway to gain their views on metrics and data collection for the Anchor baselines. Caitlin Frickleton also noted that the team has been working closely with PHS on case studies for the Anchors workstream.

Niamh O’Connor suggested looking for case studies around additionality (i.e. examples of areas of work that would not have happened if the Anchors workstream had not been in place).

Linda Bauld advised members who would like to provide any further comment on the draft baseline report should send an email to PAWSecretariat@gov.scot.

Minutes from previous Board meeting

No objections were noted to the minutes from the meeting on 15th February 2024 which were approved by the Board.

Programme update

Emma Wylie gave an overview of the programme based on the information contained in the Highlight Reports.

RAID – A revised format has been produced in alignment with Care and Wellbeing Portfolio (CWP), to allow manageability and grouped according to the majority of the risks. Capacity and Resource are reporting red with ongoing mitigations, Fiscal Pressures and Governance are reporting amber and continue to be monitored closely.

Comments received on the revised format included the potential to include the path to green when updating actions. This suggestion was agreed, and the format will be updated to reflect this.

Enabling Local Change – update and progress on paper for Public Health’s contribution to Community Planning Partnerships

Chris Stothart provided an update on ELC to the Board. Chris Stothart highlighted that the review of 2024/25 NHS Board Annual Delivery Plans was complete, which found significant variation in returns, but also identified several examples which will be used in the Stocktake Report. Chris Stothart acknowledged this positive first step in requesting boards to complete a return on their CPP activities. There are no plans to formally feedback to Boards.

Progress is continuing to be made on the Stocktake Report, though it has been delayed due to capacity issues. A draft structure of the report has been agreed and is currently being populated with content from an agreed set of sources. The aim is to produce a final version by end of July, dependent on workstream resources. Chris Stothart reminded the Board that the Stocktake Report is intended to be a snapshot of where things are at currently, with examples of how health partners are supporting Community Planning Partnerships, and will build off of a review conducted by ScotPHN in 2019.

Chris Stothart described how the workstream is also contributing to the development of the Population Health Framework’s “place and communities” pillar. A workshop is taking place on the 19th June which will further explore and consider the role and contributions of community planning and how workstream activities can help to support and inform the development of the framework.

A Community Planning Network event is planned for 10th June with a discussion focused on gathering local partners’ perspectives and expectations of health in relation to their participation and engagement in Community Planning Partnerships. The outputs of this session will be used to inform the Stocktake Report.

There is a paper in development (Public Health System offer to Community Planning Partnerships) which seeks to develop a consistent offer of support from the public health system (national and local) to local partners covering a variety of activities. This is currently in the process of being turned into a user-friendly document which will be tested with a select number of Community Planning Partnerships to ensure clarity and accessibility. The intention is to present the paper at the next Board.

Action 15

• Bring the Public Health System Offer to Community Planning Partnerships paper to the next Programme Board.

Comments received were noted below;

Pamela Smith added that Paul Johnson and Angelina Foster had provided input to the COSLA leaders in terms of the offer into local systems that would also help inform the final position.

Recognition was given to time spent on evidence/information gathering and the variation of responses from Boards. The expectation is that the Stocktake Report will help us understand the current position and support wider engagement, including a stakeholder event in the Autumn intended to produce recommendations of further workstream activities.

Population Health Framework progress update

Niamh O’Connor provided an update on the Population Health Framework (2024-2034). The framework is being co-produced with COSLA and will adopt a primary prevention approach, be organised around the King’s Fund four primary drivers for population health and contain key actions for priority policy areas. The framework will align with existing plans and strategies, such as the Mental Health Strategy Delivery Plan.

An initial round of engagement consisting of evidence sessions, focused workshops, and the publication of a series of public health system consensus statements is nearly complete and has helped to inform the development of a draft outline for the framework to support further engagement.

The draft outline will be taken to Ministers and COSLA for sign-off in advance of being used to support a further round of national and local engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This round of engagement is intended to support the development of content for the framework and to help build a whole system approach to support implementation.

Comments received were noted below;

Shelia McCole noted the potential role of various partners and sectors and how the benefits from their actions may be seen elsewhere. Important to demonstrate the interdependencies to show how this all fits together and the contributions from different parts of the system.

Gordon Paterson asked how does social care fit in and expressed the importance of recognising the contribution that social care makes, i.e. care at home, to the prevention agenda and in relieving pressures on secondary care.

Pamela Smith asked if we should be looking at Population Health and Wellbeing framework, which considers broader wellbeing, and the potential opportunity this presents to align agendas around prevention and outcomes-focused as the golden threads running across. Pamela Smith was keen to explore the role that exists for employers due to the impact of working conditions/environment and the potential opportunity to provide a clear role for wider stakeholders that includes private sector.

Niamh O’Connor acknowledged the need to be clear in the engagement document which parts of reform refer to this work versus service reform work underway. Niamh O’Connor also agreed that we need to be more mindful of social care and the contributions they make towards health and wellbeing. We will look at the outcomes and align with PHS work (such as the developing Marmot Places work).

Action 16

• Ensure the engagement document provides clarity on which parts of reform will be covered by the framework.

Action 17

• Further consideration to be given to the role for employers and the impact of working conditions/environment on the workforce.

AOB

Linda Bauld advised that the next Programme Board meeting scheduled for 8th August 2024 may be rescheduled due to members’ annual leave.

Future dates to be aligned to a quarterly timetable.

Action 18

• Dates of future Programme Board meetings to be confirmed.