Agenda item

Purpose of the item: To receive any questions or petitions.

NOTES:

1.    Due to the Covid-19 pandemic all questions and petitions received will be responded to in writing and will be contained within the minutes of the meeting.

2.    The deadline for Members’ questions is 12:00pm four working days before the meeting (25 February 2021).

3.    The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting(24 February 2021).

4.    The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

Witnesses:

Ruth Hutchinson, Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council

Dr Sally Johnson, Clinical Lead for Covid Vaccinations, Surrey Heartlands

Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Domestic Abuse

1.    A member of the public asked the following question in advance of the meeting: “How many of Surrey's care home residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the Government lifted the last national lockdown on 2 December 2020?”

2.    The following response was issued by Surrey County Council Public Health in advance of the meeting: “The Public Health England line listing of case data derived from our Power BI platform identifies 1,647 records of care home residents testing positive for COVID-19 since 2 December 2020 (up to 28 February 2021). Data included on the National Capacity Tracker estimates that the total number of care home residents in Surrey is approximately 9,799.

Please note: due to data quality issues related to provider input, this data is subject to change.”

3.    Having received this response, the questioner asked the following supplementary question at the meeting: what impact had the level of infections indicated in the response above had on COVID-related hospitalisations and deaths of care home residents during the same period, as well as on the rollout of the vaccine, since it was understood that vaccinations could not occur in care homes where there was an outbreak taking place?

4.    It was agreed that a written response would be provided after the meeting; the response is attached to these minutes as Annex 1.

5.    The Clinical Lead for Covid Vaccinations stated that it was in fact possible to vaccinate residents and staff even when there was an outbreak in a care home. A risk assessment would have to be conducted, and vaccinations for people who had tested positive for the coronavirus would have to be delayed, but outbreaks in care homes had not hampered the vaccination programme significantly.

6.    Members enquired whether the figure for Covid-19 cases in care homes was particularly high in Mole Valley and whether there were any other pockets across Surrey that had similarly high figures. The Select Committee requested to see comparative figures for each district and borough. The Director of Public Health agreed to include information on the prevalence of Covid-19 in care homes and the population as a whole in each district and borough in the written response.

7.    The Co-Chair of the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People emphasised that domiciliary care should also be taken into account, not just care homes. The figures for domiciliary care were often ignored, yet domiciliary care clients and staff were impacted significantly by Covid-19. The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Domestic Abuse agreed to provide, where possible, data on the cases of hospitalisation or death of Adult Social Care clients in a domiciliary setting.

Actions/further information to be provided:

1.    The Director of Public Health to provide a written response to the questioner’s supplementary question, including information on the number of hospitalisations and deaths in care homes and domiciliary care settings for each district and borough.