Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Director of Public Health.

The report provides an overview of the work to assess Healthy Life Expectancy in Stockport and an analysis of the significant inequalities in healthy life expectancy.

The Board is recommended to:-

(1)  Note the key summary points as outlined within the report.

(2)  Endorse the proposed work to continue to investigate other, more regular, methods of assessing Healthy Life Expectancy locally.

Officer contact: Eleanor Banister on 0161 474 2447 or email:

eleanor.banister@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Public Health submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an overview of the work to assess Healthy Life Expectancy in Stockport and an analysis of the significant inequalities in healthy life expectancy.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The Board thanked officers for the report and welcomed the level of analysis that would underpin the work to improve inequalities in healthy life expectancy over the next five to ten years.

·         It was queried how, as a locality, the data would be utilised to drive changes for those where there were significant issues relating to life expectancy.

·         In response, it was stated that the analysis and data would be used within decision making and the programme of work such as neighbourhoods and prevention. It was commented that the data would enable to service to allocate health and care and wider system resources to reduce inequalities using a proportionate universalism approach.

·         It was noted that figure 8 within the report related to the council’s Area Committees and suggested that a short, focussed version of the report be submitted to the relevant Area Committees for consideration to support councillors to understand the implications for their population.

·         In response, it was confirmed that a report outlining the Neighbourhoods and Prevention Programme was due to be submitted to the January cycle of Area Committees.

·         It was queried whether mental health was included as part of the healthy life expectancy analysis.

·         In response, it was commented that the census questions ask about your general health and so there was some differentiation in how this was interpreted in different ways by people, however the census also asked about quality of life and general health status as a whole. It was noted that when people thought about their health, they do not make that separation between mental and physical health in the way that sometimes care and health services do.

·         Noting that there had been little change in the levels of healthy life expectancy in Stockport over the last 10 years, it was queried how the approach going forwards was going to be different to reduce those inequalities in the future.

·         In response, it was commented that based on the understanding of the determinants of health, whilst health and care services were a key focus, they only contributed to around a fifth of health outcomes for the local population. It was noted that health inequalities were largely driven by socioeconomic factors and the most important lever would be to look at the socioeconomic differences and focus the anti-poverty work accordingly to ensure it was embedded across the whole system utilising the fair and inclusive work.

RESOLVED – (1) That the key summary points as outlined within the report be noted.

(2) That the proposed work to continue to investigate other, more regular, methods of assessing Healthy Life Expectancy locally be endorsed.