Agenda and minutes

9.1       The minutes of the 07 July 2015 meeting were agreed as an accurate record.

10.1     Richard Eyre attended as substitute for Julie Fitzgerald.

11.1     No members declared interests.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the end of the agenda. Any members who wish to raise urgent items are asked, wherever possible, to notify the Chair before the start of the meeting. In so doing, they must state the special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being considered urgently

12.1     There were none.

A report by the Acting Director of Public Health

13.1     This item was introduced by Cynthia Lyons, East Sussex Acting Director of Public Health. The JSNA has been expanded to include community assets and resources; 68 JSNAA areas have been updated in the past year; plans are in place to further develop the JSNAA web presence, with a new communications plan, an initiative to increase email alert subscribers, and increasing use of user feedback to drive website improvements.

13.2     In response to questions, Cynthia Lyons told members that:

·         Community & voluntary sector groups could become involved in needs and asset assessment work via the business planning process.

·         Needs assessments employ a variety of engagement tools to ensure that they reach all service users, including those for whom English is not the first language – e.g. talking directly to communities and to representative/advocacy groups.

·         The needs assessment process is used to ensure that resources are targeted effectively – e.g. identifying where older people are most at risk of falls and investing accordingly.

13.3     RESOLVED – that the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment & Assets Annual Report be noted.

A report by Healthwatch East Sussex

14.1     This item was introduced by Richard Eyre, East Sussex Healthwatch Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Manager.

14.2     In response to questions, Richard Eyre told the Board that Healthwatch has been working with East Sussex Healthcare Trust (ESHT) for several years, but the relationship has improved markedly in recent months, with ESHT responding more constructively to patient complaints raised by Healthwatch, and beginning to do more in terms of public engagement.

14.3     Amanda Philpott welcomed the input of Healthwatch into primary care, particularly in terms of co-working with Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and facilitating cross-border conversations with Brighton & Hove. Dr Martin Writer agreed, identifying the Healthwatch survey of access to GPs as an especially valuable piece of work.  He added that for maximum effectiveness Healthwatch should work with the CCGs before undertaking further studies so that there was common agreement on methodology.

14.4     The Chair commended Healthwatch for the annual report and for all their impressive work over the past year.

14.5.    RESOLVED – that the report be noted.