Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Deputy Director of Public Health.

Stockport has a population that is older than most places in the UK, and one that is also growing older.  This presents a fantastic opportunity to embrace and adopt a strategy to make the borough a place where people can age, really well.

This strategy presents an overview of work already ongoing to promote healthy, positive ageing in Stockport, highlighting the areas where a difference can be made to ageing well, and posing a challenge to think more broadly and collectively, and to take forward the key actions that will make a difference.

The Health and Wellbeing Board is invited to consider and adopt Healthy Ageing Strategy.

Officer contact: Dr Donna Sager, 0161-474-3928, donna.sager@stockport.gov.uk

The Deputy Director of Public Health submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Board to consider a Stockport Health Ageing Strategy, developed in recognition that the population of Stockport was one of the oldest in the UK, and was getting older. The Strategy aimed to ensure the borough was a place where people can age well.

The Strategy also needed to be understood in the context of the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub that linked with the Centre for Ageing Better, to take opportunities to undertake activity could be more appropriately delivered on a wider footprint.

It was clarified that the Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group had yet to consider the Strategy.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         This Strategy drew on the out ‘Aging Well’ elements of Health & Wellbeing Strategy that already had broad support from partners and stakeholders.

·         Ensuring unpaid carers were given smart support and care was vital as they were going to become ever more important.

·         Ensuring active older people would begin with encouraging active children, so how was that going to be encouraged? In response it was stated that the Strategy had no age parameters to reflect this. There was also a physical activity strategy, and the Schools Sports Partnership that had proved very successful and active.

·         What support was available for encouraging community groups and youth groups in getting people active? In response it was stated that Public Health had good links with community groups but many were self-sustaining and required little intervention. In many cases it was better to allow them to 'get on with it’. It was further commented that physical activity did not have to be sport.

RESOLVED – (1) That the draft Healthy Ageing Strategy and the ’direction of travel’ set out within it be endorsed.

(2) That the Deputy Director of Public Health be requested to submit a report to a future meeting in relation to the Stockport School Sports Partnership.