To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 25 February 2015, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2015 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to Minute 33, paragraph 5 being amended to read, ‘a copy of the Ofsted inspection’. 

Any interests not already registered.

There were no additional declarations of interest.

The Chairman advised that an article would be included in the next InShape Magazine about the Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) but would be carefully worded as not all GP Surgeries had PPGs. The Chairman advised that in regards to action 3, a follow up report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had taken place and when available the report would be circulated.

Cllr. Davison advised that he had attended the Kent County Council (KCC) Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) which had mostly covered subjects relating East Kent. The West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had hoped to have a balanced account for the end of the year.  There was also concern expressed that the Sunrise Residential Home report had been issued without CCG knowledge.

Cllr. Brookbank advised that the CQC report for Pembury and Maidstone Hospital had been prepared and would be going to the HOSC meeting in June. There would also be a report on the emotional wellbeing of Children in relation to Mental Health and the West Kent CCG was lead on this. Concerns were raised at the restructure in the Swanley Children’s Centres especially with the increase of babies in the area. Other Members also expressed their concerns.

Cllr. Fittock informed that the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG had discussed grants for voluntary bodies. There was no progress with the PPG regeneration which he was Chairman of. It was noted that KCC had provided a lot of training around the new Care Act that came in on 1 April 2015, and the impact it would have on people’s rights and expectations.

Cllr. Mrs. Bosley advised that a Memory Café in West Kingsdown was opening.

Cllr. Searles spoke about the health meetings he had recently attended. The PPG at Darent Valley were moving away from Medway Hospital and more towards Queen Mary Hospital and there would be a new structure and Terms of Reference for the PPG. There were increasing concerns at Volunteer Bureaux for transport grants to enable residents to attend hospital appointments; more resources were being investigated. At Age UK there was open day for the Dementia day room and Cllr. Searles advised that he had also attended a PPG Chair’s meeting where new appointment software was discussed for GP Surgeries and the various schemes surrounding each PPG. Officers had attended a recent PPG meeting to discuss providing a possible falls prevention class in Hextable. The Oaks Surgery in Swanley was looking to expand their premises.  The Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG were reporting that they were within budget.  With the creation of new towns in Garden City it had been suggested that 27 new GPs would be required for the area.  At the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Health and Wellbeing Board, priorities for Ebbsfleet and Paramount developments were being identified.

In response to a question, Cllr. Searles advised that the Garden City would have an impact on local health services and the medical impact was currently being consulted on at Darent Valley Hospital. There was also new A&E department being created at Darent Valley Hospital and minor injury units, like at Sevenoaks Community Hospital, were being investigated for the Garden City. The Chairman praised Sevenoaks Minor Injuries Unit for the efficient and useful service which was provided.

Cllr. Clark advised that as Chairman for the Children’s Centre’s Steering Group in Swanley, he was also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

The Chairman welcomed Kate Sergeant from the Alzheimer’s Society and Lesley Knight from Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services. Kate advised that both offered similar services and that currently the Alzheimer’s support service ran a Dementia café at the Stag theatre twice a month which was commissioned by KCC. There was also a peer support group based in Otford for those who were at the early stages of Dementia. This was currently oversubscribed and a further need had also been identified in Westerham and Edenbridge for this service.

Kate praised the Council for the leadership they had shown in Dementia and developing a Dementia Friendly Community. In Kent 21,000 people had been diagnosed with Dementia, unfortunately it was estimated that 50% of people suffering with Dementia had not been diagnosed or were in denial. West Kent CCG were the lead for Dementia Support Services and had renewed a service which provided a Dementia Support worker,  to visit those known with Dementia and spend two hours with the individual to do what they would like to do, for example, go shopping.

Lesley Knight informed the Board that her work was mostly based in the north of the District covering Swanley and the northern parishes as well as Dartford and Gravesham. There was a Dementia Friendly Café in Swanley and another one would be opening up in West Kingsdown. There was also a Community Café in Hartley where a Community Warden was based. Members were advised that a GP surgery in West Kingsdown had sent out letters to those known to be suffering with Dementia via the PPG to advise them of the services available to them.

In response to questions Members were advised that an Admiral Nurse was someone that supported carers with behavioural support and procedural care. They were similar to McMillian nurses but unfortunately there were not enough of these nurses. It was hoped that there would be at least two to cover, Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley and Swale. Lesley advised that it was important that once there was a diagnosis, planning for the future was important and this included personal plans and developments, as Dementia also affected families of the person suffering.  A Member advised that at Darent Valley Hospital there were Dementia buddy’s who were reducing the discharge time to 1 to 2 days.

In response to a question Members were advised that there were lots of theories around Dementia but the cause was still unknown. Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia were the most common forms of Dementia. In the UK there were 850,000 people suffering with Dementia and it was estimated that around 85,000 people had not been diagnosed.

The Chairman thanked Kate Sergeant and Lesley Knight for attending the meeting.

The Health and Communities Manager advised that Dementia Friends training ran monthly at the Council and any new Councillors would be offered the training.

The Health and Communities Manager presented a report which advised Members of the establishment of an Older People’s Sub-Group of the Sevenoaks District Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The LSP had identified the challenge of an aging population as a common theme and the Older People’s Sub-Group would identify and address key issues and opportunities relating to older people. The group would be a multi-agency partnership.

The Seniors Action Forum was one of the agencies which would be part of the sub-group and the Chairman welcomed Frank McConnell, Merilyn Canet and Steve Plater to the meeting. The Seniors Action Forum was run by older people for older people and had carried out a survey of its members and was currently collating the results. There were currently 630 members and the survey was accessible to all its members via post, email or downloads from the website. From the initial results it was clear that there were interconnecting issues and the three main concerns were: fear of crime (an example of scams was given); health and transport; and housing was fifth on the list.

Members discussed scams and the concern surrounding the increasing recorded numbers. It was particularly a concern for those living alone or in isolated locations.

The Chairman thanked the Seniors Action Forum for attending the meeting and providing information on the survey results.  

Verbal update

The Health and Communities Manager informed the Board that the CQC had been in contact and advised that a second inspection had taken place on 13 and 14 April 2015. Considerable improvements had been seen and the full report would be circulated to when it was received.

Action: The Health and Communities Manager to circulate the CQC Sunrise report to Members.

The work plan was discussed and an update at the autumn meeting would include the Older People’s Housing Survey and an update from the LSP Older People’s Sub Group. 

The Chairman thanked the Members of the Health Liaison Board for their participation over the past two years and thanked members of the local community for the work which they carried out. She also expressed her thanks to the Chief Officer Communities and Business, and the Health and Communities Manager for their work on health and wellbeing.

Members thanked the Chairman for her Chairmanship.