The Chairman will announce details of the arrangements in case of fire or other events that might require the meeting room or building’s evacuation.

To receive (if any)

Members are invited to disclose any interests in any of the items on the agenda at this point of the meeting.  Members may still declare an interest in an item at any time prior to the consideration of the matter.

There were no disclosures of interests.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 20^th September 2023 and authorise the Chairman to sign them

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correcr record and were signed by the Chairman.

Relevant documents attached

The Sub-Committee received various reports presented by Healthwatch Havering (HH).

The first related to Autism and contained responses to consultation held by HH. Members noted many respondents were of a negative view regarding GPs and GP receptionists and the quality of clubs in the Borough. On a positive, the majority of professionals within the industry felt positive with their jobs and enjoyed their roles. HH reported there was a lack of support for adults over 25 with HH trying to act as a catalyst to start new provisions.

The second related to Deafness. Members were shown a video showing people signing the lyrics to a song using British Sign Language (BSL) which was received well by the Sub-Committee. HH explained that BSL was defined as a legal and statutory language and some residents can only read BSL so documents and websites should be made available in BSL to accommodate those residents.

The final related to long-covid. Members noted the report was a second survey following the first survey in 2023. One third of respondents who engaged in the previous survey reported an improvement in their condition, 28% reported no change and 38% reported their condition had worsened. It was noted that there were differing opinions between GPs on dealing with the symptoms of long-covid. HH explained a follow-up survey would be conducted in the following 6-18 months.

The Sub-Committee noted the report.

Relevant documents attached

The Sub-Committee were presented with a report on the Community Phlebotomy Service.

The target for non-urgent bleeds were 10 days or less which had not been met, which was partially due to the recent strikes. It was noted there was a recovery plan in place which was having some effect with wait times reducing. It was noted that with staff numbers increasing, the service was prepared to introduce 1 extra appointment per chair per hour, increasing the overall capacity by roughly 15%. Alongside that, the service was considering opening evening centres and were in the process of purchasing fridges to store the blood in overnight. It was noted that blood centres had started to open at GP practises with Havering having the lowest number in BHRUT with it explained that the process of moving staff from Primary Care to community was difficult.

The Sub-Committee noted the report.