Agenda item

26.1    Margaret Willcox, Sarah Scott and Mark Astle presented the performance data for Quarter 3 2019/20 for each of their service areas to the Committee.

26.2    Within Adult Social Care, the figures for the proportion of people with a Disability (or work limiting health condition) supported by GCC Forward Services in Employment for more than 52 weeks was highlighted as performing above target, as was the number of permanent admissions to residential and nursing care homes, which had reduced.

26.3    The only area performing below target was the percentage of service users who had received a review/re-assessment of their needs within the last 12 months. Margaret Willcox explained that a deliberate decision had been made against carrying out routine re-assessments, instead prioritising reviews, such as for those with learning disabilities. One member suggested extending the time frame for the completion of re-assessments, however in response it was explained that the targets were set nationally.

26.4    Following a member query, the data provided for carer quality of life would be checked, given that the figure had remained constant since 2015.

26.5    Within the Prevention, Wellbeing and Communities service area, the performance data for the percentage of eligible patients offered a NHS Health Check was highlighted as below target. In response to a query, Sarah Scott explained that the NHS Health Check was a Government mandated preventative health programme aimed at those aged between 40 and 70 years old, who did not already have a cardiovascular disease. The target was for 5 percent of this eligible population to receive a health check on a quarterly basis. It was noted that although payments had been increased to practices, the NHS Health Check was not a profitable service for them to offer, and a number of GPs did not find them useful. It was also noted that many people did not want to take time off work to attend their health check, and that men in particular were reluctant to attend.

26.6    The Committee was informed that the percentage of pregnant smokers achieving a quit after four weeks was above target. Following a query, it was agreed that the next Director of Public Health Report would include annual smoking statistics for the Committee to consider.

26.7    Members were also informed that the suicide rate per 100,000 population remained below target. It was explained that additional money had been received in the Council budget to tackle suicide rates in the County, which would enable initiatives to continue to be developed.

26.8    The Assistant Chief Fire Officer drew the Committee’s attention to key performance data within his service area. In particular, it was noted that the number of Safe and Well visits undertaken was below target. It was explained that this was due to Service operational crews dedicating more time to core operational training, however the Prevention department had employed dedicated staff to assist with the more complex Safe and Well visits with the aim to increase the numbers undertaken.

26.9    The Committee was also informed that the number of killed and seriously injured people and children had increased, however this could be as a result of more accurate data being supplied by Gloucestershire Constabulary. It was explained, following a query, that under the new crash recording system, incidents that had previously not been considered serious had been reassessed.

26.10 There was a member query on the information being provided to families on road safety. It was explained that GCC and GFRS had funded a joint post to deliver road safety, and that a number of projects were run for schools. One member requested the details of road safety programmes offered for schools, so that they could be shared with local headteachers. In response to a further query as to how elderly people were being educated on road safety, it was explained that this was being addressed through the Safe and Well visits, and could be an area for consideration  by the Road Safety Cabinet Panel, which was being chaired by Cllr Dave Norman, Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Parking and Libraries.

26.11 There was a query regarding the correlation between bad weather and the number of road incidents. In response, it was explained that there was often an increase in incidents in sunny weather due to its impact on driver attitudes, however this would be looked into.