Meeting documents

To consider Report and to receive Presentation (to follow).

This item will be led by the Council’s Assistant Director Commissioning Richard Selwyn, Strategic Manager, Vikki Hearn and Strategic Manager Public Health, Patsy Temple

Note – the Chair will allow 30 minutes for this agenda item.

The Committee considered a report and received a presentation from the Council’s Assistant Director Commissioning, R Selwyn and Strategic Manager Public Health, P Temple, who provided details of the Somerset Connect pilot, (a community-based model) and links to the Frome LCN development. M Wide Deputy Leader Frome Town Council and Chair of Frome Area LCN also joined meeting.

Somerset Connect is an emerging jointly-commissioned (children, adults, and health) community-based model which seeks to better connect, and add value to the work already taking place in communities across the County. The model focuses on three key areas of improvement:

• Access – ensuring families and people in need can easily access the information, guidance and support they need.  Removing any existing barriers caused by siloed working.
• Connections – ensuring those services working in communities (health, social care, schools and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sectors (VCFSE)) can easily connect to ensure the right support, in the right place, at the right time is available.
• Relationships – ensuring that through every contact families and people in need are being empowered to be resilient, building their own community and networks of support.

The Committee made a number of comments, which were responded to at the meeting: -supportive of work, but don’t reinvent wheel and learn from other areas; reconsider re consider what called, as ‘Somerset Connect’ sounds similar to ‘Somerset Direct’; connections between people are important; need to include local members (good resource); careful that don’t end up with a digital by default offer; how will hubs be staffed; how ensure appropriate signposting happens; learn from the warm-hubs and full county wide roll out.

In response to the points made, Mr Selwyn confirmed there will be an evaluation of the pilot in the new year (tender); with regard to staffing of the hubs, will provide some support in terms of capacity in each of the primary care network areas; the point made about signposting is a good one; will be clear that its an offer of help available to all families.

On behalf of the Committee the Chair thanked Mr Selwyn, Ms Temple for the report and presentation and Mr Wide for attending.