To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 10 January 2024, as a correct record

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting held 10 January 2024 be approved, and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered.

There were none.

There were none.

The Chairman welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Health to the meeting. The Portfolio Holder provided updates on the various projects that had been implemented throughout the year.

The One You team had a successful uptake for the four ‘Why Weight’ courses which were completed by mid-December. The Team were recruiting for the face-to-face January courses which would take place in Edenbridge Memorial Health Centre, White Oak Leisure Centre and Sevenoaks Leisure Centre. There would also be online courses. Feedback from the courses had allowed the Team to set up a pilot pop-in clinic to provide further support to participants.

The Health Team Leader had been working with Kent County Council (KCC) Quit Smoking Team to enable a face to face clinic to be set up from the 6 February 2025 to aid residents to quit smoking and vaping.

The Communities and Health Team hosted a Silver Sunday event for over 55’s at Sevenoaks Leisure centre on 2 December 2024. Residents had access to the NHS Health Check Team, Kent Fire Community Team, One You and Sevenoaks Primary Care Network. As a result of the good turnout, similar events had been planned for 2025.

Another success could be seen with the 12 week badminton programme in New Ash Green which completed in November 2024 and the group continue to meet. Further 12 week badminton and a new netball programmes were due to commence in January 2025 in West Kingsdown.

In response to questions the Portfolio Holder explained that the Council had ongoing communication with the Kent Community Health Trust (the Trust) regarding Sevenoaks Hospital. The services provided currently would continue and the Council was committed to maintaining the service in Sevenoaks Town. It was explained that if there were any changes from the Trust, the Portfolio Holder would liaise with Councillors. He highlighted to Members that communication with the trust was open.

The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder for his update.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Health presented an update on Devolution. It was explained that the services currently provided were anticipated to be run by the unitary authority. Any changes were likely to be with regards to how services were delivered.

On Friday 10 January KCC and Medway Unitary Authority wrote to the government and expressed a desire to be part of the priority devolution phase. A further request had been submitted to delay upcoming local elections.

District Leader meetings had been taking place to discuss timelines. It was explained that although the last large government change took place in 1974, devolution was not unprecedented and some Local Authorities across the country had already undergone changes. The main difference to note was the speed at which the government required the changes to take place. The Portfolio Holder stated the timetable for change should be available by early February 2025. Any timetable was dependent on whether KCC and Medway had been accepted onto the priority pathway.

The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder for the update.

The Health and Communities manager presented the report. She clarified that the data has been reviewed and linked with the Kent County Council (KCC) Public Health Team and identified areas for improvement. Some of the data could not be improved upon as some residents had long term of life limiting health issues.

Hospital admissions throughout the District were higher than the England average and the District had a higher level of hospital admissions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). There was also an increase in admissions for self-harm and alcohol related harm. The District had also experienced an increase in premature deaths due to cardiovascular disease.

The Health and Communities Manager explained that funding had been received from the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Health Care Partnership which had enabled the Team to implement initiatives to tackle COPD, cardiovascular issues and generic health issues within the community. The Council had also been invited to join the West Kent Partnership (the Partnership). This would investigate mental health and substance misuse issues and concerns and allow the Council to have input on how to reduce these issues.

The data indicated that income deprivation had an impact on children and affected 23% of the population in Swanley with weight and obesity issues being higher than the Kent average for both reception and year 6 age children. It was further detailed that hospital admissions for under 19’s was higher than the average in England. These issues would be looked at with the Partnership to find ways to have a positive impact on the data.

The Health and Communities Manager also provided an update on the One You Team. Referrals had increased from 114 to 172. Live and Eat referrals in Swanley and Edenbridge had also increased and the team were reaching out to vulnerable residents in the area to offer the service. Every member of the Team had now received training in mental health first aid due to an increase in mental health referrals.

The online ‘Why Weight’ session also saw a high uptake with 45 participants. Three health check events had been carried out and the Team received positive feedback including for the One You Team’s engagement. A recommendation to renew the One You Team contract would be proposed to the Director of the Edenbridge Memorial Health Centre.

The community walk-in blood pressure and well-being event which was aimed at residents who had not visited their GP in three years was also successful with 50 participants.

Hextable lunch club had tripled in attendees and had between 30 – 40 attendees. A lunch club would also be opening in West Kingsdown in January. It was explained that other services would also be attending the lunch clubs such as for postural stability, digital inclusion and health checks. The face to face cooking groups were also successful with a range of cultures and backgrounds participating.

It was further confirmed that the One You team had received £10,000 of funding from KCC for their Smoke Free project in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

The work plan was noted with the following additions:

July 2025:

·         External speaker Matthew Wallace

·         Devolution Update

·         Access to GP services: Supporting Primary Care

·         External speaker: Kenwood Trust