Agenda item

The cabinet member for health and wellbeing to present the theme for the meeting.

The meeting noted the amendment to the themed motion via the programme motion.

 

Councillor Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, presented the motion in the themed debate.

 

Councillor Rachel Bentley spoke on behalf of Councillor Maria Linforth-Hall, the opposition spokesperson, and responded to the motion and proposed Amendment A.

 

Following debate (Councillors Gavin Edwards, Jasmine Ali, Victor Chamberlain, Sam Dalton, Victoria Mills, Irina Von Weise, Esme Dobson, Catherine Rose and Kieron Williams) Councillor Evelyn Akoto responded to the debate.

 

Amendment A was put to the vote and declared to be Lost.

 

The motion was put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

Health and wellbeing in Southwark

 

1.  This council notes:

 

a.  5 July 2023 marked 75 years of the National Health Service (NHS).

 

b.  Treating over a million people a day in England, the NHS touches all of our lives. When it was founded in 1948, the NHS was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery. Today, nine in 10 people agree that healthcare should be free of charge; more than four in five agree that care should be available to everyone, and that the NHS makes them most proud to be British.

 

c.  Labour created the NHS. Our values are built into the NHS’s founding principle that everyone, wherever they live, whatever they earn, should get healthcare that is free at the point of use.

 

d.  The NHS is facing both an unprecedented immediate crisis and a long-term challenge. Right now, the NHS is not working. 13 years of Conservative and the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition governments has run the service into the ground.

 

e.  The immediate crisis is that the NHS is no longer there for people when they need it: Month long waits to see a GP, ambulances that can’t get to people in time to save lives, dangerously long queues in A&E, over 7 million on the waiting list for hospital treatment – a system at breaking point.

 

f.  The NHS crisis has widened health inequalities, created barriers to access to healthcare and resulted in a disparity in outcomes.

 

g.  Everyone should be able to access the support and services they need to lead healthy lives. A Labour Government will tackle health inequalities, support mental wellbeing and help residents to be fit and active.

 

h.  Southwark Council have established a new in-house Active Southwark Service designed to help our residents stay healthy and fit. Giving access to a wide range of activities across our pools, leisure centres, outdoor gyms, parks and sports facilities.

 

i.  Southwark Council is working to ensure quality care in Southwark for those who need it, and look after people who care for others too.

 

j.  We are rolling out our new Residential Care Charter to ensure all Southwark residential and nursing homes have high standards of care and fair pay for care home staff. This includes every home having a Family Forum so people have a place to raise any concerns about a loved one’s care. 

 

k.  The employers of five of our biggest care homes have signed up to the Residential Care Charter, equating to nearly 70% of our care worker staff working in homes that are fully compliant and will be paid at least the London Living Wage. They will also be paid for the time it takes to carry out a proper handover between shifts, ensuring safety and continuity of care for residents. Zero hour contracts will not be used in place of permanent contracts unless requested by staff and training must be free and carried out in work time. These steps mean that our most vulnerable residents receive the best care from carers whose work is respected. 

 

l.  We have opened a new state of the art nursing home, so all older Southwark residents who need care can continue to have a home in our borough, and we are identifying another site to open another home in the next few years.

 

m.  Southwark is part of the Integrated Care System a partnership that brings together the organisations responsible for health and care services in south east London, to make the greatest possible contribution to the health and wellbeing of people living in South East London.

 

n.  Since 2019, Partnership Southwark has been working to better join up services and support, tackle the causes of inequality, and improve the health and wellbeing of Southwark residents. Partnership Southwark is our Local Care Partnership within the overall South East London Integrated Care System, working with other health, care and non-statutory organisations and local communities to bring together services and support at a neighbourhood level so that they do a better job of keeping people healthy and meeting their needs.

 

o.  The Conservative cost of living crisis has plunged many families into food poverty and food related health inequalities. Access to healthy and nutritious food impacts us at every stage in life, affecting development, wellbeing and life chances. Inequalities in diet result in inequalities in health.

 

2.  The Council believes:

 

a.  This NHS crisis is leading to a two-tier system, with creaking NHS care for those who can’t afford to pay, and timely care only for those with the money to go private.

 

b.  Our health system faces a long-term sustainability challenge. The NHS is still designed for the world of 1948, where people needed short-term treatment for infectious disease or injury. Now, we are looking to the same system to provide more care for people with chronic long-term conditions and it is simply not set up for this.

 

c.  Alongside the NHS crisis, it is extraordinary that in one of the richest countries in the world, the issue of food insecurity is soaring to unprecedented levels. The combination of food prices, wage stagnation and real-terms cuts to benefits is tipping more people into food poverty. This is not inevitable – it is a political choice by a Conservative-led government. We want a sustainable food system in Southwark to improve health and wellbeing for our population, to reduce inequalities and to protect the planet.

 

d.  In Southwark, we recognise the urgency of healthy, affordable food for the health and wellbeing of our communities. The council has a strong history of tackling food insecurity together with our partners in the voluntary, community and faith sector.

 

e.  We are proud to be one of only four councils in London to be recognised as cross-cutting leaders in our food work as part of the recently published Good Food for All Londoners report.

 

3.  The Council resolves to:

 

a.  Support the election of a Labour government that can fix the immediate crisis and address the long-term challenge the NHS now faces after years of underfunding by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrat governments, so that future generation can benefit from the NHS for the next 75 years and long beyond.

 

b.  Support the election of a Labour Government with a strong ambition to create a National Care service that will resolve the crisis in the adult social care system.

 

c.  Work with our communities and NHS to reduce inequalities in access to healthcare, including those faced by Black, Asian and ethnic minority people. Expanding our Community Health Ambassadors network to empower more people to work with their community to increase the uptake of life saving vaccinations and cancer screening and holding local health services to account for the work they need to do to make sure care is accessible and high quality for all.

 

d.  Ensure all Southwark residents can access mental wellbeing support if they need it. The Council is already rolling out support for all children and young people. We will also launch innovative new support for adults, designed and delivered with and for people from across Southwark’s diverse communities. Including support for parents delivered by parents.

 

e.  Continue to work to provide the highest possible care for residents who need it, and increase nursing home capacity in the Borough.

 

f.  Provide a defibrillator (AED) for every school and in public buildings to ensure all residents have access to these lifesaving pieces of equipment.

 

g.  Confirm that Labour will ensure quality care in Southwark for those who need it, and look after people who care for others too.

 

h.  Introduce more support for all unpaid carers, regardless of whether the person they care for gets funded care.

 

i.  Continue to look for opportunities to bring social care services in house, under the control of user led groups or into cooperative ownership and will campaign to keep our NHS in public ownership

 

j.  Make Southwark a Right to Food Borough. Working with local businesses, community groups and schools to ensure everyone in Southwark has access to healthy, affordable food within a short walk of their home.

 

k.  Continue to increase access to affordable food models (such as pantries) in the borough, and ensure more convenience stores provide an affordable, healthy food offer to residents.  We will provide much needed support to local organisations that are tackling food poverty to embed cash-first approaches and provide a culturally appropriate food offer.