Agenda item

Joint report of the Town Clerk and the Director of Community and Children’s Services (to follow).

The Board received an update on the current changes to the health emergency planning and response arrangements as they related to the City of London. Officers informed Members of the details of the City and Hackney Health Protection Forum, which was an evolution of the well-established City and Hackney Multi Agency Pandemic Flu Planning Group.

Officers informed Members that at present, the City of London (jointly with the London Borough of Hackney) operated a multi-agency forum called the City and Hackney Multi Agency Pandemic Flu Planning Group. The group was originally created to plan and support the response to an Influenza pandemic and demonstrated its effectiveness during the response to the 2009 flu pandemic. The group had since expanded its remit to cover the full scope of health emergency planning. It was anticipated that this group will continue its good work and transition to a new “City and Hackney Health Protection Forum”.

The new arrangements for health emergency planning and response would

begin to take shape soon. In preparation for this, the Public Health Team in

the NHS North East London and the City cluster, guided by the Director of Public Health (Dr Lesley Mountford) would begin to design and develop the concept of a Health Protection Forum, in conjunction with the local Contingency Planning Teams for the City of London and the London Borough of Hackney.

The Board were informed that NHS North East London and the City Local Public Health Team would convene a workshop on 22 January 2013 to inform all partner organisations of the changes during the Public Health transition and to ensure they all understand their roles and responsibilities during a health emergency. At this workshop, the organisers would seek to help stakeholders to identify their roles and responsibilities within the new arrangements for Health Protection and discuss the terms of reference and purpose of the Health Protection Forum.

RESOLVED:

1.     Members noted the contents of the report and supported the formation of the City and Hackney Health Protection Forum and;

2.     Members noted the evolving role of Health and Wellbeing Boards with regards to emergency planning and emergency response as the system evolves over time.