Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the report, which noted that NHS Test and Trace commenced on 28May 2020 and that all local authorities across the country were asked to support the system by developing and publishing Local Outbreak Control Plans by 30 June. The Committee were advised that Barnet had published their plan accordingly and can be accessed here. The Chairman noted that Barnet had also been selected to contribute further as part of the Best Practice Group Network with Camden, Hackney and Newham, representing London.

At the invitation of the Chairman, the Director of Public Health, Dr. Tamara Djuretic, advised the Committee that the plan sought to prevent an outbreak and that if one occurred, to deal with it as quickly as possible.  The Board noted that the Plan had been developed with the Barnet Health Protection Board. 

Referring to a set of slides contained within the agenda, Dr. Djuretic advised that the purpose of the plan is to support Test and Trace.  Dr. Djuretic noted that there was a PHE London Corona Response Cell (LCRC), which is a partnership that set out specific responsibilities for various actions.

Dr. Djuretic noted that the Health Protection Board contained “Category One” responders, which included partners such as the London Ambulance Service and the Police. 

The Chairman advised that the Health and Wellbeing Boards’ role as recommended by by Government is to engage with the public to prevent outbreaks.   She further noted that the webinars referred to in her opening comments aimed to engage with a wider audience. The Board noted that the first webinar focused on education, and was attended by school Head Teachers.  This webinar included back to school information and mental health wellbeing information.  The Board noted that the second webinar was with the local faith forums and local faith groups, and focused on places of worship.

The Board noted that both Webinars were well attended and created a good forum for open and timely engagement in order to prevent potential outbreaks happening within such settings.  

Dr. Djuretic noted that for the purposes of data sharing on NHS Test and Trace, an agreement had been signed with Public Health England, and that Barnet was following all guidelines.

During the consideration of this item, the meeting was briefly adjourned due to a technical error which saw an interruption in the broadcasting of this meeting.  The connection was restored, and the broadcast of this meeting was resumed. 

Dr. Djuretic noted that a communication and engagement plan was in place to promote the prevention of Covid-19.  The Board noted that the plan, which had been launched earlier that month, was targeting the areas with the most cases in the first instance.  The Board noted that specific engagement would be undertaken with all parts of the community in Barnet.   

Chris Munday, Executive Director for Children and Young People advised of an issue that he had been working on with Dr.Djuretic in relation to NHS Test and Trace in obtaining information on three young patient within the Borough.  Dr. Djuretic expressed the need to close the loop on this data.  

Responding to a question from the Chairman, Dr.Djuretic commented that schools in the Borough had been working very closely with the Local Authority.  She noted that the Health and Safety Team work with Education department and had developed an extensive risk assessment for schools, all of which had been received back.  She further noted that from the Covid-secure point of view, she was confident everything was in place for the anticipated return of schools in September.  Dr. Djuretic noted the importance of children being in school. 

Responding to a question from the Chairman, Mr. Munday advised the Committee that approximately 9000 pupils had been attending schools since the pandemic. He further noted that approximately 40% of vulnerable children were now in school, which was a big increase from the start of the pandemic and was also in line with national data.  Mr. Munday reinforced the importance of children being back in school.  He advised that he had been working closely with the Public Health and Health and Safety to develop the Risk Assessments.  He commented that he hoped that parents would feel confident in sending their children back to school.

Responding to a question from the Chairman, Mr. Munday advised that he had undertaken a very strong “Back to School” campaign.

A Board Member expressed concern about the ability of those who are not digitally enabled to receive testing if they do not have an e-mail address.  Dr. Djuretic advised that she believed that testing could be requested via the telephone.  She undertook to research this and report back to the Board (Action: Dr. Djuretic) Dr. Djuretic subsequently confirmed that tests can be requested via 119 as well as via national portal.

Following the consideration of the report, it was RESOLVED:

1.    That the Health and Wellbeing Board note Barnet’s COVID-19 Local Outbreak Control Plan and the Board’s role in management of local outbreaks.