Reading Health and Wellbeing Board will meet at 2pm in the Council Chamber of the Civic Centre on Bridge Street on Friday, 15th July 2022. Questions should be submitted a couple of weeks in advance to Nicky.Simpson@reading.gov.uk It will be possible to attend remotely - please email nicky.simpson@reading.gov.uk to request access.

NHS England has a national strategy for tackling health inequalities known as Core20Plus5 . This targets a population consisting of those in the 20% most deprived areas in England PLUS other groups identified as suffering from poor health by their local Integrated Care System. 5 particular services are emphasised for these patients.

• Maternity: ensuring continuity of care for 75% of women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and from the most deprived groups.
• Severe mental illness (SMI): ensuring annual health checks for 60% of those living with SMI (bringing SMI in line with the success seen in learning disabilities).
  • Chronic respiratory disease: a clear focus on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) driving up uptake of COVID, flu and pneumonia vaccines to reduce infective exacerbations and emergency hospital admissions due to those exacerbations.
• Early cancer diagnosis: 75% of cases diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.
• Hypertension case-finding: to allow for interventions to optimise blood pressure and minimise the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke.

This programme comes as guidance but with very little extra funding - as follows: Funding is being made available directly to help systems drive forward this agenda. The funding allocation provides for an 8A role (or equivalent) in each of the 42 ICSs, on a fair share scheme basis as well as two roles at regional level across the seven regions to support with the Health Inequalities Improvement agenda and specifically the Core20PLUS5 approach. NHS England and NHS Improvement has also provided additional capacity to accelerate coordinated health inequalities improvement activity across the seven NHS regions.

The Governing Bodies of the BOB CCGs meet (in common) for the last time at 1.30pm on Thursday 9th June 2022.

We hear a lot about the programme forNew Hospitals Programme - Sleight of Hand? 40 or 48 new hospitals in the NHS. Here Roy Lilley of the Institute of Health Management gives the lowdown on what is behind it ..... The truth about the 40 hospitals

• New has been redefined to include refurbishment and alterations to old hospitals.
• Of the 40; 22 are rebuilding projects.
• 12 are new bits, grafted on to existing hospitals.
• Three are for non-urgent care.
• There are only three 'new' hospitals two general hospitals and one non-urgent care hospital.
• DH+ imbroglio in this misdirection say; "we have committed to build 48 hospitals by 2030, backed by an initial 3.7bn actually, to build a new hospital costs half a billion.
• The New Hospital Programme people have a playbook; seven communications people, through whom all press notices, from Trusts, must be cleared ..., coordinating the misdirection.
• The independent Infrastructure and Projects Authority give the NHS projects a red RAG-rating.
• Shortages in construction materials, unexpected customs duties, energy costs and inflation are all impacting the construction sector.
• Brexit has created workforce shortages.

There are not going to be 40 new hospitals Still - if the Royal Berkshire Hospital redevelopment project is a useful rebuilding of part of the hospital - let's hope they do a good job and keep it fit to deliver modern medicine to its catchment - that's us, folks.

A study in Italy shows the efficacy of mechanical ventilation in classrooms in reducing Covid-19 transmission in schools, giving up to 82% reduction. Since our vaccines are not very effective in reducing transmission this is a very welcome confirmation pointing to measures that should be more widely taken. The study was supported by the Fondazione David Hume.

The BOB (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West) ICS (Integrated Care System) has published a draft engagement strategy. Comments are due by 18th May 2022. Please see the attached document. BOB ICS has created a microsite dealing with engagement .

South Reading Patient Voice will hold a HYBRID meeting at 6pm on Wednesday 18th May 2022. There will be an in-person meeting at Meeting Room 2, RISC, 35-39 London Street RG1 4PS. There will be online access via this link. The meeting ID is 821 323 67226. Please see attached agenda and map for access details and directions.

 South Reading Patient Voice will have an online meeting at 6pm on Wednesday 20th April 2022. Topics to be discussed include bringing South Reading Patient Voice and the North and West Patient Voice group closer: also news from the local NHS and Patient Participation Groups.

South Reading Patient Voice will meet at 6pm on Wednesday 20th April 2022. Karen Hampshire - vice-chair of the North and West Reading Patient Voice will report on the views of the members of that group to forming a unified Reading Patient Voice There will also be news from local NHS trusts and local Patient Partiicipation Groups.

According to the Guardian newspaper, South Central Ambulance Service declared a critical incident in the early hours of Wednesday, 6th April after "extreme pressures" forced it to prioritise patients with life-threatening illnesses. According to the paper, this followed a huge volume of callouts on Tuesday and increased challenges in releasing some ambulances from busy acute hospitals. The ambulance trust has asked people only to call 999 in a life-threatening or serious emergency. Advice and help are available by calling 111 or your GP surgery, or visitng your community pharmacist.