Agenda item

The Director of Public Health joined by Dr Andrew Lee, Executive Director for Primary Care and Population Health, NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, will present this item which will consider the non-Covid health impacts of Coronavirus which includes: delayed diagnosis, impact on mortality rates, waiting times for routine surgery and the impact upon GPs.

The Executive Director of Primary Care and Population Health (NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group) had been invited to the meeting to give a presentation on the impact of COVID-19 in North Yorkshire and York detailing the specific concerns regarding the four waves of COVID-19. Details of the presentation had been circulated to Members of the Committee shortly before the meeting. For each of the four waves, Dr Lee explained who was the most vulnerable, what the impacts were and possible mitigations, and what partners and the public had said about these.

Following the presentation, there was a verbal update on delayed diagnosis following hospital’s conversion to COVID-19 care in March and April. The following points were noted:

·        There were co dependencies between services and the hospital was working with the independent sector to support the NHS, for example cancer services had been deployed to the independent sector.

·        Delayed diagnosis was particularly of relevance to cancer services – in March there had been a 75% reduction in two week referrals and by June this was restored to 90% of pre COVID-19 levels and had since increased to 96%.

·        There had been 75% reduction in admissions March to June and this had now restored to 90% and routine surgery had now back to 68% of pre COVID-19 levels.

The Executive Director of Primary Care and Population Health was thanked for his update and in answer to questions explained:

·        The mental health service support in place during COVID-19. There had been a 15% rise in the demand for support which had offset admissions. Referral routes had been stable throughout and COVID-19 secure support had been delivered via telephone and online consultations.

·        Regarding GP appointments, all GP practices were mandated to triage patients and there had been a fundamental shift in the delivery of primary care.

·        Social prescribers had worked closely with the voluntary sector and some support was not a medicalised intervention.

·        The hospital had clinically risk assessed backlogs and prioritised from this.

·        The proportion waiting longer than a year or more had gone up and was estimated to be circa 7000 at the end of the year.

·        The health protection team in Yorkshire and the Humber would deal with outbreaks over the next six months.

·        The eligibility for flu vaccination had been expanded to the over 50s and vaccinations had begun in September. The setting up of a mass flu vaccination site was being examined.

·        The consumption of illicit drugs was down and the issue of alcohol consumption was on the agenda for the York health and care collaborative. The Health and Wellbeing Board had identified alcohol, smoking an obesity as areas of concern.

The Director of Public Health and Executive Director of Primary Care and Population Health were thanked for their updates and contributions.

Resolved:

     i.        That the update be noted.

    ii.        That the impact of the opening of Schools and Universities be examined at a future meeting.

  iii.        That access to GP appointments be referred to the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

Reason:     To ensure that Members were aware of the current situation in York relating to Covid-19.