To receive apologies for absence.

None received.

To receive any declarations of interest by members in respect of items on the agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2016.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2016 be approved as a correct record of the meeting.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the Committee could scrutinise in the future.

(There will be no discussion of the issue at the time when the matter is raised.  Consideration will be given to whether it should form part of the Committee’s work programme when compared with other competing priorities.)

None received.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a scrutiny committee meeting so long as the question is directly related to an item listed on the agenda.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than two working days before the meeting to the committee officer.  This will help to ensure that an answer can be provided at the meeting). 

None received.

To consider a presentation by Addaction (drug and alcohol services) in Herefordshire.

Disappointment was noted that despite officer efforts given to ensure a speaker for this item, there was no representative present from Addaction at the start of the meeting. Members were advised that, following enquiries, representatives from Addaction would be arriving at 10am. The meeting was therefore suspended at 9.40am pending attendance from Addaction representatives.

The meeting resumed at 10am.

Members received a presentation from Addaction which provided an overview of the service.  Sharon Wain, manager from the Wigan and Leigh service of Addaction attended with Laura Burrough, the newly appointed service manager for Addaction Hereford.  It was explained that Ms Wain was attending from another area in the absence of other local representation.  It was noted therefore that it was not possible to explain some of the abbreviations or provide additional local detail specific to the Hereford service and this would be provided separately.

In response to questions from members, the following information was provided:

·         The Addaction contract was commissioned and managed by public health.

·         The service works with the commissioning manager, and with other agencies, to ensure that pathways were developed and to ensure safeguarding issues were covered.

·         As the provider of mental health services, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, had worked to ensure an integrated approach with Addaction.

·         Access to the service for adults could be as self-referral or via a professional such as a GP; outreach was shown to be less effective for adults due to issues such as client confidentiality. Service provided was based on an individual assessment and recovery plan.

·         The decrease in young people admitted to hospital with drug or alcohol-related issues in Herefordshire was observed to be less than the overall national decrease; it was suggested that this was due to young people in rural areas feeling less confident in services being discreet and ability to travel to the provision, therefore highlighting the importance of rural outreach. There was preventative work to be done in schools and educational work with organisations such as the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

·         Performance monitoring was linked to Public Health England indicators and measured against comparative areas.

·         A key issue was that of access to substances: urban centres tended to be the start of the production and supply chain; in rural areas, therefore, alcohol was often the substance of choice as it was more accessible than other substances and therefore this was the focus for Addaction in Herefordshire.

·         The service recognised the aging population and there was a campaign “Drink wise, age well” tailored towards the over 50s. In this age group there tended to be more people who had been prescribed drugs such as methadone over a long term. This was a difficult group to engage due to long-term prescription dependency, but once engaged, successful outcomes were achievable.

·         Service performance for the next year included targets on numbers of clients who did not re-present to the service. The use of peer mentors, individual treatment programmes and key workers would be instrumental in this.  Individualised plans would include consideration of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

To hold a public accountability session to discuss the performance of the public health service in Herefordshire.

Due to late publication of papers, the chairman withdrew this item.

RESOLVED

That the item be deferred to the next meeting on 3 May 2016.