Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Tony Newman
Officer: Director of Public Health, Rachel Flowers
Key decision: no
Decision:
The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:
RESOLVED: To note the presentation provided by the Director of Public Health.
Minutes:
The Director of Public Health, Rachel Flowers, advised Members that from Saturday 17 October, London and Croydon had moved into a High Alert tier which reflected that COVID-19 was being transmitted across the borough.
The Director thanked everyone for their commitment to working to reduce the transmission of the virus and stressed the need to focus on washing hands, wearing a face covering and to maintain social distance to further reduce the transmission of the virus.
Whilst it was noted that COVID-19 caused mild symptoms in most it could be devastating for some, and as such the Director of Public Health reiterated the message of Hands, Face, Space.
Members were advised that being in a High Alert tier meant people could no long socialise indoors outside their household or social bubbles. However, people could meet up with others outside their household up to the Rule of Six. The need to adhere to these regulations was due to the virus thriving on people socialising and, as such, it was important that people maintained social distancing at all times.
The Director of Public Health advised Cabinet that there were 11 patients at Croydon University Hospital as of that morning and there were none in ITU (Intensive Treatment Unit), however two people had sadly passed away the previous week. Those two patients, it was noted, had underlying health conditions.
Whilst the incidence rate was low in Croydon, compared to the rest of London, it was rising with the incidence rate at 76 per 100,000, the R rate being over 1 and test positivity at 3.5%. The Director of Public Health stressed the need for everyone to continue supporting the measures to reduce transmission in order to slow the increase that was being experienced.
The Chief Executive stated that she fully supported the measures shared by the Director of Public Health and noted her tireless commitment to the residents of Croydon throughout the pandemic.
The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care offered her condolences, on behalf of the council, to those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic. It was noted that the council remained committed to supporting its residents during this period and in response to rising cases, the council’s Gold Group had increased its meetings to twice weekly. The council was also planning ahead to ensure support for shielding residents was available.
It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care that BAME residents, and in particular men, had presented late to hospital during the first wave and so issued a plea to all BAME residents to present early in future waves.
The Director of Public Health was thanked for her clear and consistent messaging throughout the pandemic. Furthermore, the Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board thanked the Director for her work in liaising with Deloitte in relation to the issues experienced with the testing centre in New Addington. Members were advised that the Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board had attended a community meeting earlier that day and there had been a commitment from Deloitte to work with the community going forward; including introducing more signage. It was further reported that the generator powering the centre had been quietened.
Members were advised that a detailed report on Winter Preparedness was due to be considered by the Health & Wellbeing Board later that week. The work of officers and partners was noted by the Chair of the Board as being an important element of the borough’s response to the pandemic.
Concern was raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care that with the abolition of the Adult Social Services Review Panel, much of the confidential information which had previously gone to the Panel was no longer being shared. The Shadow Cabinet Member reported that she was often approached by councillors requesting details on what was happening within their wards which she was no longer able to provide. The Cabinet Member was asked how information sharing would be addressed going forward.
The Cabinet Member thanked the Shadow Cabinet Member for consistently being a champion of care homes in the borough. It was stated that she was in discussion with the Executive Director of Health, Wellbeing & Adults in relation to the safeguarding report which would be sent to those councillors who had previously been on the Panel on a regular basis.
The Leader of the Opposition thanked the Director of Public Health for her update. It was recognised that the pandemic had caused concerns for many residents; whether it be financial, personal health or business survival. The Director of Public Health was requested to provide more details on the statement that there were positive cases across the borough and whether this meant there were cases in all wards or general areas.
In response, the Director of Public Health advised that there were positive cases in every super output area in the borough. The virus was spread widely across the borough and there were no particular hotspots. The Director of Public Health further confirmed that the Public Health team and colleagues in the NHS were reviewing the data on a daily basis to establish whether there were any trends. Whilst there was a relatively low number of cases in the borough, the Public Health team was looking to develop data which would show the incidence rate in each ward without any personal identifiable information. In the meantime, the Director confirmed that should concerns arise regarding a particular area these would be shared with the Chief Executive, Leader and ward councillors.
Councillor Shafi Khan requested confirmation that the R rate in Croydon was at 1.1 and details of when the rise in cases would likely be exponential as it was recognised that this would cause alarm across the community. The councillor further requested that localised data was provided to ward councillors as it was noted that during the first wave of the pandemic councillors were often being told information by outside sources rather than from council sources. Concerns were raised by the councillor that a property on his road which had been rented out via Air BnB had been used for a house party the previous weekend and so suggested that alternative forms of campaigns and message sharing should be used to ensure there was an understanding of the gravity of the virus.
The Director of Public Health confirmed that monitoring the R rate was important as it related to the doubling of transmission. At the time of the meeting, it was noted that the doubling of the incidence rate was being seen every three to four weeks in Croydon. Members were informed that a number of metrics were being used by the Public Health team to monitor the spread of the virus, the R rate being one along with the incidence rate and positive test result. It was stressed that it was hoped that there would not be an exponential rise in cases in Croydon and that the data at the time was not evidencing such a rise.
Confirmation was provided by the Director of Public Health that the council was working to spread the message via a number of channels and to all groups within society. It was important that everyone worked to stop the spread of the virus and that it meant that people needed to stop doing things with the people they cared about in order to protect them.
The Director of Public Health concluded that it was difficult for her to share ward data as it was personally identifiable data, however it was stressed that should a particular concern arise then this would be raised but that there were no such concerns at the time of the meeting.
Councillor Bird informed Cabinet that she had been contacted by residents concerned about the New Addington test centre. The location; being in the middle of the central parade, near the leisure centre and bus stop; was raised as being a risk as people were queuing to enter the test centre where residents were visiting and the potential health hazard was highlighted.
In response to concerns raised, the Director of Public Health stated that she had not chosen the site for the testing centre, rather that the council had identified four sites which were in line with the requirements for a testing centre. The final decision on the location had been made by Deloitte. The Director confirmed that she had visited the site and had apologised for the issues experienced by residents. Lessons had been learnt and new measures were being put in place, such as signage. It was noted that it had been important to ensure that there was a fixed Croydon testing site as previously there was no such facility in the borough as the Fairfield provision had been a drive in one which was available for three days a week only. The Director of Public Health further informed Members that she would continue to work with Deloitte and the Department for Health & Social Care to identify further testing opportunities. It was confirmed that 75% of tests at the New Addington site daily were for Croydon residents.
Additional concerns were raised by Councillor Bird in relation to students at Coulsdon College who were reportedly not wearing face coverings on buses or in shops and that the College was unable to police the actions of students in the community. The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning stated that Transport for London had been asked to put on more school buses in response to resident concerns. It was also noted that further conversations had started with education providers to stress the Hands, Face, Space message. The Cabinet Member concluded that it was important that it remained a two-way conversation and that everyone took responsibility and worked together as there had been reports that some students felt they were being alienated and blamed for the rise in cases.
In response to the query from Councillor Hay-Justice in relation to additional funding the Public Health team had received to respond to the pandemic the Director for Public Health confirmed that a range of money had been allocated to the council; including £1.98m for Outbreak Control plans and that additional money would be allocated to the council to support its response to being in Tier 2. It was recognised that funding would be required in the next financial year also to support the ongoing work which many were lobbying government for.
The Statutory Deputy Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:
RESOLVED: To note the presentation provided by the Director of Public Health.