Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Director of Public Health.

The report presents the health and wellbeing performance indicators previously agreed by the Board. Data is taken from the Council’s quarterly PPRRs (Portfolio Performance Resource Reports) for the Health and Wellbeing, Adult Social Care and Children and Young People portfolios wherever possible, so that these processes are aligned.

This report also summaries key updates from theme leads about progress towards achieving the Health and Wellbeing Strategy we wills in section 4. These are structured so as to give the board highlights on activity and progress made during the quarter, information on risks and to alert the Board to any issues or causes for concern and actions that need to be considered.

The Board is invited to:

·         receive and note this report and the key indicators summarised within it.

·         To identify any further information that the Board would like to receive as part of the outcomes framework.

Officer contact: Eleanor Bannister, 0161 474 2447, eleanor.banister@stockport.gov.uk

The Deputy Director of Public Health submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing the Board with data on performance during the third quarter of 2014/15 against a range of health and wellbeing indicators, and providing a commentary on trends and other issues related to the indicators. The Board were invited to consider the report and identity any areas for further discussion.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         In relation to the unusual pattern of healthy life expectancy and between males and females in Stockport, it was commented that this pattern did not accord with the national trend and further work was being done to validate the local data, although there was confidence that this data was accurate. It was suggested that further consideration may be needed as to the data that is collected to ensure it was consistent with nationally collected data.

·         It was suggested that ‘champions’ be sought from within the priority cohort of expectant mothers who smoke during pregnancy, in order to provide peer support in a similar way to peer support for breastfeeding. It was commented that of the 12 women involved with the maternal stop smoking scheme, 8 were smoke free.

·         There were positive examples of young people acting as peer supporters for other young people trying to give up smoking, and that projects of this kind had been supported through the Health Inequalities pilot programme and the Offerton Neighbourhood Management arrangements.

·         In relation to e-Cigarettes, it was commented that while there was not sufficient medical evidence to indicate how harmful they could be, and that they were not as harmful as tobacco, they contained nicotine that was a harmful substance. The public health concern with e-Cigarettes was that there was evidence of take-up by people who were not currently smokers and the danger that their use normalised smoking. The use of e-Cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool was however a positive point.

·         It was reported that the Tobacco Alliance had recently met and had a useful discussion about the practicalities of restricting smoking around play areas and other public spaces.

·         In relation to delayed transfers, it was commented that although delays occurred these were not a contributing factor in the recent hospital winter pressures. It was recognised that performance in this area could always be better but that the situation had improved sufficiently for the Foundation Trust’s performance concerns to be de-escalated by Monitor, the NHS Regulator.

·         In relation to childhood obesity it was commented that the number of children overweight at Year 6 was improving, although challenges remained for children at reception age. The Council and partners were engaged in a range of programmes to seek to address the problem, and levels of participation in sport in schools were high. Comments were made that rates of physical activity were positive but the public health challenge remained around changing patterns of food consumption, particularly putting over complex messages about healthy food and diet.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Director for Public Health be requested to provide an update on excess winter deaths once data was available.

(3) That the Director for Public Health be requested to submit a report to a future meeting on healthy life expectancy.

(4) That the Democratic Services Manager be requested to circulate for information a copy of the Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group’s Annual Report.