Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2019 be confirmed subject to the following amendments:

9C) Butterflies – Pamper sessions for women

9D) Did things like Google Home/Alexa help with Social Isolation?

There wasn’t proof that they helped with Social Isolation but things like music and TV did.

4) The benefits of Social Prescribers, as demonstrated in the video, was that they were really good at talking and listening to people’s problems and showing true empathy. They were able to offer support and advice which people seemed more responsive to given that they were not clinical and were generally perceived as friendly and supportive people.

No declarations of interest were received.

The Committee will be shown the following two short films as part of this item:

·         The role of Social Prescribing

·         Crisis Line – Mental Health Hub and Spoke Initiative

Graham Watts, Democratic Team Leader and Elections Manager:

a)    Explained that following a meeting with Victoria Sleight, two promotional videos were sent to Officers in relation to Social Prescribing and the Mental Health Hub and Spoke Initiative.

b)    Showed these videos to the Committee and members felt that they gave a useful insight into these matters, in particular Social Prescribing. Further discussions took place after the videos were shown and Members asked further questions regarding the content.

Graham Watts provided a brief overview of Social Isolation following a meeting that took place with Victoria Sleight from the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust.

Victoria highlighted a number of key points relating to this matter and how she was directly involved in it through her role as Neighbourhood Lead.

RESOLVED that the committee noted the review.

Amanda Sowerby, Operations Director, Age UK:

a)    briefly outlined her role within the organisation

b)    provided heat maps which were also available on their website which identified pockets of the city where people were socially isolated

c)    explained that Age UK as an organisation:

·         supported people over the age of 50.

·         they covered Lincoln City Centre and Lincoln South.

d)    reported that:

·         the noticeable differences over the last few years in clients’ needs had become greater due to social isolation.

·         clients pressed an alarm often not because of an emergency/incident, but because they were lonely and needed interaction and they had valuable links to volunteers who were able to provide face to face visits if this happened. The same thing was occurring with the Help In The Home service that they provided.

e)    highlighted that there was a Hospital Avoidance Response Team (HART) which was a service to support clients remaining at their homes rather than going to hospital.

f)     Invited members comments and questions.

Question: Was there any specific screening to detect Social Isolation?

Response: An assessment would be carried out to investigate whether they could access any other services.

Question: Were a lot of services that weren’t accessed due to a lack of money and people not being able to afford it?

Response: This was partly the reason, however, a lot of services that were offered were free.

Question: What services were available to people at the lower end of the age spectrum, i.e. under 60?

Response: The aim was to provide services to all ages but the majority of people who accessed the services were older people.

Question: What did you offer for people with physical and mental disabilities?

Response: There was disabled access and they were Dementia friendly i.e. colours etc.

Question: Could people make an appointment for an assessment?

Response: Yes and they could arrange for it to be in their own home.

Question: Was there a service that provided check-ups on people who were recently bereaved?

Response: There was no universal service other than St Barnabas.

Rachel Bethell, Marketing and Outreach Officer:

a)    provided a brief introduction about her role at the Network which was located in City Hall

b)    explained that she mainly dealt with people between the age of 16-24

c)    stated that:

·         this year the Network were taking a different approach and hosting focus groups and linking up with charities.

·         all the young people that they’d dealt with had suffered with some kind of mental health issue due to having no friends or feeling isolated.

·         a lot of clients lacked qualifications and had fallen through the net at school, so the Network had provided online courses for people to complete to gain qualifications.

·         a dog workshop was taking place in a couple of weeks’ time to help people gain further life skills, help them socialise, gain more confidence and make it easier for them to take further steps into gaining employment.

d)    invited members comments and questions.

Question: Could any work be done for people before they finished school to avoid them falling through the net?

Response: The Network supported a number of different age groups, visited schools, attending interview days and offered workshops which prepared students for change. They also provided useful toolkits. They also supported university students and helped them obtain work experience.

Question: Was there the opportunity for somebody who had gained employment from working with the Network be buddied up with someone to share their experience?

Response: The Network had volunteers who were advisors however when people were asked if they could share their experiences there was little interest.

Malcolm Ryan, Service Manager at Carers First:

a)    briefly outlined his position at Carers First in Lincolnshire

b)    stated that Carers First:

·         mainly supported unpaid carers.

·         helped build resilience and combating social isolation where possible.

·         they were first established in Kent until they signed a contract with Lincolnshire County Council and set up an office in Lincoln.

·         provided a Carers Hub which carers could ring, leave messages and access online services any time.

·         50 staff were employed across Lincolnshire providing support for carers which included signposting, mentoring and support work.

·         they were the only charity that were able to conduct statutory carers assessments.

·         they could signpost families if they felt someone in the household needed support.

·         there were 19 wellbeing groups across the county, 4 were in Lincoln.

·         2 of the wellbeing groups were specific to carers but other groups supported people with Dementia, Autism and Mental Health.

·         offered a carer learner programme which helped people develop their role in caring.

·         supported carers who were no longer in a caring role to gain employment.

·         engaged with pharmacies over Lincolnshire and made referrals through dealing with them on a regular basis.

c)    Invited members comments and questions.

Question: Did you find many carers were in employment?

Response: The majority of carers were self-employed or worked part time.

Question: Did people get access to benefits as a carer?

Response: Yes, providing they accessed the correct services

Question: Following a bereavement, when were individuals identified in order to be offered support?

Response: Carers First would be called that day or the following day.

Subash Chellaiah, Multi Faith Chaplaincy Co-ordinator:

a)    briefly outlined his role at the University of Lincoln.

b)    explained that:

·         there were 18 chaplains altogether.

·         36 students were receiving support every day.

·         8,000 students from the 17,000 currently enrolled at the University were from faith communities.

·         chaplains were under resourced as a lot of their work was voluntary.

·         they also worked with primary and secondary schools.

c)    invited members comments and questions.

Question: Did a lot of students struggle with financial pressures?

Response: Yes and they were very anxious about the future of jobs. There was a 24 hour service that students could access anonymously for extra support.

Question: Were language barriers an issue?

Response: Carers first had provided translator services on occasions.

Subash explained that students were able to take part in garden activities such as growing vegetables etc. This helped them become more sociable and the produce was used in the kitchen at the University.

Jess Cullen, Democratic Services Officer:

1. presented the draft work programme for 2019/20 as detailed at Appendix A of her report

2. advised that the work programme for the Community Leadership Committee was put forward annually for approval by Council; the work programme was then regularly updated throughout the year in consultation with the Community Leadership Committee and its Chair

3. reported that items had been scheduled in accordance with the existing work programme and officers’ guidance regarding the meetings at which the most up-to-date information could be reported to the committee; the work programme also included the list of portfolio holders under scrutiny

4. requested any relevant comments or suggestions to the proposed work programme for 2019/20.

RESOLVED that the work programme 2019/20 as detailed at Appendix A to the report be noted.