Agenda item

This report is for information, sharing details about the activities of Healthwatch York in 2023/24 with the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Manager, Healthwatch York, presented the annual report and updated the Board on recommendations from previous reports. She began by reading out feedback from members of the public, noting that there was a need for better communication about the role of Healthwatch.

The board were unanimous in their praise for the this report, particularly noting its accessibility and depth, and the hard work and diligence of Healthwatch’s staff.

The board asked for further clarification about achievement section of page 141 of the agenda, wherein the CORE20PLUS5 initiative was discussed.

The Healthwatch Manager advised that this would be discussed in detail within the next annual report, but that York had recently received some funding from Humber and North Yorkshire ICB and NHS England, which was initially due to be allocated only to coastal areas of the region, but York had successfully negotiated to join this scheme to discuss what matters to children and young people with regard to oral health, mental health and chronic conditions. She encouraged partners to get in touch if they were aware of any cohorts that may wish to become involved.

The Corporate Director of Childrens and Education discussed care leavers at 18, advising that he had recently brought care experienced people together to speak with senior colleagues within the ICB; one of the main points raised by this discussion was the shift at age 18 from being considered a young person to an adult.

As a result of this discussion, York had led (through the ICB) a successful £1.4 million bid to develop a central ICB Clinical Psychologist with an apprentice Advanced Clinical Practitioner in each leading care team across all six areas. This would particularly benefit the mental health of 18-25 year olds.

The board further discussed the issue of 18-25 years olds, querying the participation of students in higher education. The Healthwatch Manager noted that Healthwatch had core connections studying within both of York’s universities and also York College. Board members also suggested Askham Bryan College be included as the cohort attending there were often distinct from the other higher education bodies, both in terms of the syllabus and the demographic of the students.

The Director of Public Health noted with regard to Annex C “Emerging Issue – Gender Health” that it was his intention to undertake a health needs assessment around womens health, followed by one for trans/non-binary health and one for men’s health at some point in the future and he would be happy to liaise with Healthwatch on these topics.

The Healthwatch Manager responded that this report only covered the period to March 2024, and further work had since been undertaken. Their next report would be the interim report on Access to GP Services, for which Healthwatch received over 1300 responses. This report was drafted and awaiting fact checking, the Healthwatch Manager proposed to bring the item before the board in September.

She also noted that Healthwatch had progressed with work on York’s all age neurodiversity strategy and she would be happy to liaise with the Director of Public Health on this, particularly as it applied to gender. Furthermore, she noted that Healthwatch had received £4000 grant funding, made available by the ICB to fund five in-depth conversations with women regarding sexual and reproductive health which may also be useful to discuss with him.

In response to a query from the board, the Healthwatch Manager clarified that under the “Independent Evaulation of the pilot Pathway for Adult ADHD and Autism” in Annex C (E7); what was there referred to as an “All Age Autism Strategy” should have been updated to “All Age Neurodiversity Strategy”.

Resolved: That the Board noted Healthwatch York’s Annual Report 2023/24 and commented on the updates provided within the report and its associated annexes.

Reason: To keep up to date with the work of Healthwatch York and monitor progress regarding recommendations.