Agenda item

TheChairmaninvited the following to the table:

·         Dr Tamara Djuretic, Director of Public Health, LondonBorough of Barnet (LBB)

·         Deborah Sanders, Chief Executive, Barnet Hospital

·         Colette Wood, Director of Integration, North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group (NCL CCG) (jointed remotely)

·         Ms Bhavita Vishram, Public Health Strategist, LBB

Dr Djuretic explained that Barnet has seen a slight increase in the cases of Coronavirus, most of these being associated with children in school. She said that two cases of the new Omicron variant had been reported so far. However, there was evidence of community transmission of Omicron, as cases were no longer directly linked with overseas travel. She also confirmed that currently the new variant had not resulted in increased hospital admissions.

Dr Djuretic informed the Committee that the Coronavirus updates nationally had changed: mask wearing was now mandatory in public spaces, apart from hospitality venues. She said that currently contact tracing was taking place for confirmed Omicron cases however, due to community transmission, this was likely to cease. The main course of action for protection was to receive the booster vaccination. She also reported that the programme for vaccination of 12–15 year-olds was going well.

Dr Djuretic reported that hospital admissions were currently stable and that there were two reported cases of staff and two residents in Care Homes with Coronavirus. However, schools had seen an increase in reported cases with 153 cases compared to 59 the previous week. She explained that the Barnet Control Plan had been updated and published, which outlined the actions that would be taken. The main strategy was to continue to encourage residents to get vaccinated as the main form of protection. She said that additional vaccination sessions had been put in place in the Brent Cross area. Overall, the vaccination rates within the Barnet population were high at 73% across all ages.

Dr Djuretic advised that the ‘flu vaccination uptake was currently 25% but was higher within the NHS and Social Care setting at around 42%. She said she would look at the figures from the previous week and was happy to circulate this to Members of the Committee.

Action: Dr Djuretic

Dr Charlotte Benjamin advised that the vaccine take up in Barnet was better than the overall average for London. She explained that overall people in Barnet were keen to be vaccinated and that work was taking place in collaboration with Public Health to reach those more hesitant about having the vaccine. Dr Benjamin said that children could access the vaccine via the school programme and that a clinic had been set up in PCN2 and PCN3 for any who had missed the school session or for those home schooled.

Dr Benjamin reported that those dying in hospital were predominantly un-vaccinated and that the best protection came from having both the first and second dose. She advised the Committee that AstraZeneca was starting to be introduced for those requiring a third dose of the vaccine and were housebound, as the vaccine did not require observations following administration, thus enabling the role out to be swifter.

A Member queried why pharmacy and GP systems did not appear to be aligned as some patients who had received the vaccine were still getting messages reminding them to book. Dr Benjamin explained that there was sometimes a small delay between the pharmacy system and the GP system and therefore this sometimes caused confusion.

A Member raised an issue which was being experienced by Carers trying to access lateral flow testing kits, as a code was now required and often Carers were struggling to get these. Ms Vishram advised that collection codes had recently been introduced, but reassured the Committee that Carers were still able to pick up a pack even if they turned up without a code. Ms Vishram agreed to investigate improving communication on this.

Action: Ms Vishram

A Member enquired how elderly housebound people could be offered the booster as often families were struggling to contact GPs, due to not being on the care list. Dr Benjamin said that arranging transport to a Hub would be the quickest way to arrange a booster. However, they could also contact their GP and consent to the GP sharing medical information on their behalf.

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the verbal Coronavirus and Vaccination Updates.