Issue - meetings

22.1.    The Committee considered a report providing an overview of the East Sussex Winter Plan for 2021/22.

22.2.    The Committee asked how the NHS would deliver the new vaccine programme following the Omicron outbreak.

22.3.    Darrell Gale, Director of Public Health, said his view of the new variant was one of caution but not deep concern, as a lot of work is already being done to reduce the delta variant’s impact. He said the announcement to increase the booster programme in response to the Omicron variant has caused some confusion amongst residents, as it is not the case that people can just turn up at a vaccine site to receive the booster; people need to wait to be contacted by the NHS.  This is because not everyone is eligible yet and the vaccine programme cannot just double its capacity of vaccines, slots and staff overnight. Jessica Britton, Executive Director of East Sussex CCG, added that all residents will be eligible for the booster by the end of January and that to date 70% of those in Sussex over the age of 40 who are eligible have already had the booster. The Executive Director said the additional demand across the whole of Sussex for all patients who will eventually be eligible for a booster is 625,000 additional vaccines between now and the end of January. Currently 80-90,000 are delivered per week, meaning operations would need to be scaled up to deliver 120,000 per week to meet the target and plans are being developed to achieve this.

22.4.    The Committee asked about the progress of vaccines for patients in their own homes who are clinically vulnerable.

22.5.    Jessica Britton said the NHS is continuing with the Housebound programme and is on target to ensure all people who were part of the initial programme receive their booster by the end of December using additional resources provided to the Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Darrell Gale confirmed the Greater Wealden PCN will have completed all of its Housebound boosters by the weekend.

22.6.    The Committee asked what the NHS can do to improve the resilience of the care home sector and how oversees recruitment will get round the cap on visas.

22.7.    Mark Stainton, Director of Adult Social Care, said that the biggest issue facing the home care and care home sector is workforce. East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is providing information and support to providers individually and as a sector during the winter period. This includes using central government funding to provide both home care and care home providers with financial aid to support their resilience over the winter period that is designed to help them retain the workforce they already have. ESCC also has joint recruitment initiatives with the care sector providers including a Department for Work and Pensions pilot, the Armed Forces Network, and oversees recruitment all designed to tap into parts of the employment market not yet utilised to the fullest. The oversees recruitment is in areas with an established health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22