Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health on the refresh of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (PH/16/25), attached.

A copy of the draft Strategy is also included in the papers.

The Board considered a report from the Director of Public Health (PH/16/25) on the revised Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for 2016-2020.

The Board noted the statutory requirement to have a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the Local Authority area based on the need identified in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

The report outlined that the first Strategy was widely consulted upon in 2012/13 and two updates were produced in September 2013 and again in June 2015. The strategy needed to be updated due to both its expiry date and the need to be consolidated into one document, reflecting current health and wellbeing issues.

The four original themes of the 2013 Strategy (a focus on children and families, healthy lifestyle choices, good health and wellbeing in older age and strong and supportive communities) have remained valid and provided a focus on health inequalities across the life-course in line with Marmot principles.

In terms of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2016-2020, the Board has continually reflected on its priorities, including development and stakeholder sessions with a wide range of groups, organisations and individuals with different perspectives. From such feedback, future priorities needed to focus on early intervention, mental health, housing and connectedness and enabling communities with an underpinning focus on health inequalities.

The proposed new strategy was high level, seeking to reflect progress that the wider system has made as separate organisations and collectively over the last three years. It has a set of interconnecting themes supporting health and wellbeing through the life course underpinned by strong and supportive communities and living with lifelong mental health:

·         A focus on Children, Young People and Families – this remained important to ensure the best start in life and a focus on prevention / early help when need was identified;

·         Living well – renamed ‘Living Well’ to reflect the importance of looking after oneself in mid / later life to reduce risk of disability and frailty. Prevention / management of long-term conditions / reducing multi-morbidity was critical and lifestyle changes could help support this;

·         Good Health and Wellbeing in Older Age – remained important;

·         Strong and Supportive Communities – a focus on strengthening community resilience, addressing social isolation and the importance of place based health (for example the importance of housing, fuel poverty etc); and

·         Lifelong Mental Health – to reflect the importance of mental health and the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, this has been added as a new priority area.

The Board discussed and asked questions on the following;

·         the value of strong social connectedness and how people could be kept healthier for longer;

·         support for carers was another important area and the Strategy made particular reference to this;

·         the importance of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Strategy / work being given full focus within the H&W Strategy and whether it should be a priority in its own right and that a specific reference to the D&SVS should be made within priority 1;

·         the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), the Safer Devon Partnership and links with the Community Safety Partnerships and that particular reference should be made to the PCC under priority 4;

·         that priority 4 needed to be renamed ‘Strong, Safe and Supportive Communities and further wording related to the safety of these communities’;

·         that further links needed to be made between all the listed priorities including alcohol issues; and

·         that, as statutory officer for Childrens Services, and in line with the Health and Social Care Act, J Olsson, becomes a Member of the Board; and

·         that further consideration be given to the Community Safety representation on the Board, particularly the Chairman of the Safer Devon Partnership and the current Police and Crime Commissioner membership.

It was MOVED by Councillor Davis, SECONDED by Dr Pearson, and

RESOLVED that the draft Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy be approved, subject to the suggestions and comments made at the meeting, as outlined above.