Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Public Health, Communities and Prosperity (PH/24/01) presenting the Annual Public Health Report for 2023/2024, attached. The Full Report can be viewed at Annual Public Health Report 2023-24 - Devon Health and Wellbeing.

(Councillors Leaver and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet received the Report of the Director of Public Health and Communities (PH/24/01) which presented the Annual Public Health Report for 2023/2024, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Director of Public Health had a statutory duty to write an annual report, and the local authority a statutory duty to publish it (section 73B [5] & [6] of the 2006 NHS Act, inserted by section 31 of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act).  This enabled the Director of Public Health to make an independent judgement about the state of the health of the local population and ensured that the Report would be published and in the public domain.  The Report could be viewed here Annual Public Health Report 2023-24 - Devon Health and Wellbeing.

The Public Health Annual Report focused on healthy ageing, describing the changing demographic profile of Devon over the next twenty years highlighting the benefits this could bring, but also predicting the future levels of illness and disability associated with an ageing population.

The report highlights that over the next 20 years it was predicted that the number of older adults (65 years +) living in Devon would increase by 76,000 people by 2043 and the proportion of the population of those aged 75 and over would increase from 13.7% in 2024 to 18.4% in 2043.  The Report also included projections for the number of people living with long-term conditions, disease and disability within Devon with the expected rises by 2040 for limiting long-term illness, Diabetes, Obesity, Cardiovascular disease, Falls (hospital admissions), Dementia and Depression.

The Report utilised the most up to date evidence to make recommendations on the actions and interventions which should be undertaken to promote healthy ageing and compress the number of years people spend in poor health.  The Report also included an update on the recommendations from the 2022-23 annual report.

The Cabinet were being asked to receive the 2023-24 annual report of the Director of Public Health and to note its recommendations, as outlined below.

1.             Establish a workstream focused on developing predictive analytics to inform service planning across Public Health, Adult Social Care, Health and wider local authority services.

2.             Develop a dementia strategy to ensure there is an agreed and clear strategy for Devon.

3.             Increase targeted action on promoting people staying active physically, mentally and socially.

4.             Explore the adoption of Devon as a World Health Organization Age friendly community.

5.             Deliver on the Smoke-free generation ambitions and scale up our offer to support more smokers to quit. 

6.             Work with key partners to increase action on the early identification and intervention of key health conditions, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, dementia, people at risk of falls.

7.             Support the national epidemiological survey on oral health in people aged 65yrs+ in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 578