Agenda item

37.1.      The Board considered a report seeking approval of the refreshed East Sussex Outbreak Control Plan.

37.2.      The Board heard a verbal update from Darrell Gale, Director of Public Health, on the number of cases in East Sussex, and from Joe Chadwick-Bell, the Chief Executive of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT), on the current impact of COVID-19 on the acute hospitals in East Sussex.

37.3.      The Board asked if testing and tracing is still important despite the vaccine now becoming available. 

37.4.      Darrell Gale confirmed that testing and tracing people with COVID-19 was still absolutely vital. Particularly as the next phase of the pandemic will likely see a plateau in overall case rates that hides wild fluctuations across the county, as small outbreaks occur against the backdrop of few or no cases, particularly as schools return and become a potential source of outbreaks. In this scenario, testing people and tracing outbreaks early will help prevent outbreaks spreading.

37.5.      The Director of Public Health reminded the Board that the country was still in lockdown and people were required to stay home or remain local if getting essential supplies. Despite this, the good weather, vaccine programme and road map out of lockdown was likely to change people’s behaviour, particularly the working age, non-vaccinated people aged 20-45 who will inevitably end up transmitting the virus.

37.6.      The Board asked whether the vaccine has impacted on hospital admissions.

37.7.      Darrell Gale said it is difficult to see the effect of the vaccine on transmission, but it is clearly impacting on hospitalisations and deaths.

37.8.      The Board asked why the workforce programme for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities was targeting BAME women who are pregnant.

37.9.      Darrell Gale said pregnant BAME women were an example of intersectionality of multiple deprivation, i.e., they are a group who are at a higher risk from harm from COVID-19 for a number of reasons.

37.10.   The Board asked about whether the British Army is still involved in rolling out the vaccines.

37.11.   Siobhan Melia, Chief Executive of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) – the lead provider of the mass vaccination centres in Sussex – said the main issue in the beginning had been the vaccine supply, but this was due to the lack of supply coming off the production line not the ability to get it to the vaccine centres. The Army had provided early assistance in short bursts where there had been delays in getting sufficient staff, however, this was no longer an issue as SCFT and GP practices (for local vaccine centres) had sufficient numbers in place.  SCFT has now organised 1,200 professionals and volunteers as of this week into the vaccine programme in the various vaccine centres in Sussex such as at Etchingham, Devonshire Quarter in Eastbourne, the Brighton Centre, Crawley and Chichester.

37.12.   The Board RESOLVED to:

1) approve the revised East Sussex Outbreak Control Plan (appendix 1);

2) agree to receive a further report at its 13 July 2021 meeting on the development of the Plan; and

3) formally thank all professionals and all volunteers for their enormous efforts in rolling out the vaccine in East Sussex.