Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health

Further to Minute No. 4 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 25 May 2017 the Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Health which incorporated his independent annual report on the health and wellbeing of the population of Sefton highlighting key issues. The annual report had been developed through collaborative working with a range of Council and external partners and it considered the root causes of health inequalities across Sefton, what actions are already being undertaken locally to address these issues, as well as recommendations for future actions on nine key areas, which are:

·       The best start in life

·       Healthy schools and pupils

·       Helping people find good jobs and stay in work

·       Active and safe travel

·       Warmer and safer homes

·       Access to green and open spaces and the role of leisure services

·       Strong communities, wellbeing and resilience

·       Public protection and regulatory services

·       Health and spatial planning

The Cabinet had resolved that the annual Public Health report be received and the Council be recommended to approve the publication of the report.

Attached as an Appendix to the report was a copy of the statutory independent report of the Director of Public Health.

Charlotte Smith, Specialty Registrar, Public Health presented the Annual Report and highlighted issues associated with health data for Sefton; the general socioeconomic, cultural and environmental conditions affecting the   wider determinants of health; life expectancy in Sefton; and the health and wellbeing indicators in Sefton in 2016. 

Ms. Smith focused on issues contained in the report relating to children and young people and In particular drew attention to:-

·       The importance of the best start in life for a child as early life experiences help to shape future habits, behaviours and attitudes to the world around us. This means that positive early experiences, both with our family and in early years education settings, can provide children with better life chances and more chance of being healthy

·       The importance of healthy schools and pupils as helping each child and young person reach their full potential at school provides them with better life chances and it can also help them to live a longer and healthier life

·       The importance of warmer and safer homes as living in a home that is warm, safe and in a good state of repair is fundamental to keeping ourselves well, whatever our age or circumstances. When our housing meets our needs we are better able to access services and

·       build relationships with people living in our local community

Ms. Smith concluded by detailing the aims of the Annual Report for 2017/18 to include a proposed topic regarding the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people; and that the report would take a multi-media approach using film and social media.

Members of the Committee raised the following issues:-

·       there was no mention in the report of illegal drug use

·       perceived anomalies in the statistical data comparisons of Sefton to the England average

·       the high numbers of deaths caused by dementia

·       the large variances in life expectancy depending on where residents lived in Sefton and the much lower life expectancy in the south of the borough. Concern was expressed that despite past policies and plans the 10 year reduced life expectancy in the south of the borough had not improved for many years   

·       the detrimental effects of poor air quality in parts of the borough

·       Sefton’s performance in breastfeeding initiation was significantly below the north-west and England average and this needed improving. It was considered that mothers needed ongoing support with breastfeeding issues as their children grew; that in this regard, mothers should be able to breastfeed whenever and wherever they wanted; and to achieve this aim, the stigma associated with breastfeeding should be removed and baby friendly environments created

·       Concern was raised about the poor childhood obesity statistics in Sefton; and that it was considered that improved systems of educating parents to encourage lifestyle/healthy eating changes were required to tackle the problem. It was acknowledged however that this was a national problem and not one confined to Sefton.

RESOLVED:

That the report of the Director of Public Health which incorporated his independent annual report on the health and wellbeing of the population of Sefton highlighting key issues be noted.