Agenda item

To receive a report on the Outbreak Control Plan from Liz Noakes, Director for Public Health, Telford & Wrekin Council and Nicky Minshall, Service Delivery Manager: Health Protection, Health, Wellbeing and Commissioning, Telford & Wrekin Council.

The Board received the report of the Director: Public Health and the Service Delivery Manager: Health Protection, Health, Wellbeing and Commissioning.   The presentation included the latest infection rates and hospital admission rates.  The Board heard that the Borough had just over 10,000 infections over the course of the pandemic, the fifth-lowest rate within the region.

The Board was reminded that it had approved the Local Outbreak Plan in July 2020 and heard that the Department of Health & Social Care had asked that it be refreshed to continue to be able to respond to future outbreaks and be prepared to move forward through the next stage of the pandemic with a focus on improving immunisation uptake and reducing inequalities.  The Board was informed that the Plan had been submitted to the regional team and feedback had indicated that it was a strong plan with good outbreak control structures, good knowledge within the team and demonstrated a good understanding of our communities.

The Board was informed that the review required a look back at the Council’s best practice when responding to outbreaks and that the Department of Health & Social Care had set out a number of expectations of the updated Local Outbreak Plan, some of which were current expectations and some which had been added since the Plan was first adopted.

Members commented that this presented an opportunity to reflect on the Covid journey to date and to express thanks for the hard work from Council officers but also that of other agencies and the Council’s third sector partners in the community and voluntary sector.  This was testament to the fact that Telford worked on difficult issues together. 

Members made reference to the aspect of the Plan which referred to funding and the limited nature of this.  A question was asked of the Director of Public Health regarding what indications the government had given that further funding would become available particularly with the possibility of a third wave that the country is being told may arrive.  The Director of Public Health explained that there was a sustainable financial plan in place to continue with the core funding of the Council’s Health Protection Hub at the moment but that it was not possible to say how the pandemic would develop and progress move forward and, if there were significant surges or a significant third wave, then it was difficult to say how much funding would be required to respond to these.  However, currently, the Director of Public Health was comfortable with the current resources available to support the ongoing work of the Health Protection Hub and other work relating to the pandemic.

Members commented that they were happy to see the Council and partners taking a joint approach to communications in relation to both precautionary testing and vaccination as it was important to reinforce those messages to ensure that the uptake of both was as high as possible and, therefore, helping to reduce inequalities caused by the pandemic.

RESOLVED– that the refreshed Telford & Wrekin Local Outbreak Management Plan March 2021 be approved.