Agenda item

5.1  The Chair stated that the purpose of this item was to receive an update on the Health and Well Being Strategy one year after it was adopted.

5.2  He welcomed for the item

Joia De Sa (JD), Consultant in Public Health

Dr Sandra Husbands (SH), Director of Public Health

5.3  Members gave consideration to 4 documents:

Presentation on HWS one year on

Note on ‘Increasing social connections for the residents of Hackney’’

None on new City and Hackney Social Connection Leads Group - terms of reference

Copy of the Hackney Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-26

5.4  JD took Members through the presentation which covered:

Background to the Health and Wellbeing Board

Process to reach the Priorities and Progress to date

The 3 Priorities: Improving mental health; increasing social connection; and supporting greater financial scrutiny

Priority 1 - Improving Mental Health

What we’ve heard from residents and stakeholders on what is important

What we should focus on and how we are taking this forward

Priority 2 - Increasing Social Connections

What we’ve heard from residents and stakeholders on what is important

What we should focus on and how we are taking this forward

Priority 3 - Supporting greater Financial Security

What we’ve heard from residents and stakeholders on what is important

What we should focus on and how we are taking this forward

5.5  Members asked questions and the following points were noted:

a) The Chair asked about the approach to linking with or enhancing existing services, in relation to Priority 2 on ‘Increasing Social Connections’. JD explained that a key element of this was service mapping but it was also about having clear thinking on what we’re really defining as social connection and then  benchmarking so we can benefit from learning elsewhere. She added that the key point was the quality of the interaction and the frequency

b) The Chair asked about building on the legacy of Connect Hackney. JD explained that this work is about building on the projects that came out of that and linking them to the wider work such as that done by Volunteer Centre Hackney. SH added that up to now the focus had been on service delivery but if we want to engender lasting social connections and create healthier communities and not just respond to immediate needs, we need to be more creative. It’s about understanding what our role is in building social capital and not just providing a service, because those interventions are inevitably time limited and often about small groups rather than whole communities. We need to be able to support and strengthen social capital within discrete communities and between them, she added.

c) The Chair asked what a revised approach here would look like in practice. SH acknowledged that this was difficult to describe but what you will see is a combination of greater social cohesion within communities, which is tangible and somewhat measurable, but also communities continuing to come together to support each other, in the way they did during the pandemic. The healthiest communities are the ones that have that sense of community empowerment and these will look and behave differently than they do now. Some communities can be very cohesive but have high levels of deprivation and large burdens of ill health.

d) Cllr Turbet-Delof (Mental Health Champion) asked about measuring the impact of outreach work. JD replied that this is something they want to develop further.  There is some work on projections and there are proxy measures they can look at and begin to measure them over time. Cllr Kennedy commented that a very good example of this was an intervention by Housing where they’ve looked at everyone who lives on their own and who hasn’t called in a repair in over 2 yrs and they’ve gone and knocked on their doors. Doing this they found a number of people who were severely isolated and or hoarding and who had given up on reporting repairs and who were living in very poor conditions. So, he added, there are certain metrics which can be used to measure the impact of this kind of outreach.

e) Members asked about the possible threat to funding due to the impact of inflation. They also asked about extending access to free local exercise classes beyond just over 55s and also about the financial viability of widening this offer. JD explained that the public health funding here referred to the co-ordination role and that would continue. On low cost exercise classes there was an offer, specifically related to the cohort for ‘falls prevention’ work and she undertook to examine this area further. SH replied that a real terms cut in funding would obviously impact services such as befriending or social prescribing but in terms of the wider programme of work the aim was not to focus on just 1:1 or even group activities but finding opportunities to support connections between people that are beneficial and lasting, and not just programmes that are only specifically designed for one purpose. In Public Health they attempt to add to their purpose in order to enhance the offer. Only certain age groups qualify for certain programs of course and that is always under review, she added.

ACTION:

DPH to provide further details on the eligibility for free exercise classes beyond just ‘55 year olds and above’ and also offers for cohorts such as those experiencing mental health challenges or who are isolated.

f) Members asked whether there was enough emphasis on mental health and how to integrate that better with other services. JD replied that mental health in and of itself does require a special consideration and it must be integrated across the piece and that is a focus of their work.

g) The Chair asked about the benefits if even 1% of funding was switched from Secondary care to Prevention and how Public Health evidences their case so that funding isn’t always swallowed up by secondary care. JD replied that prevention and early intervention does always reap rewards for the system overall and this is particularly true for mental health. There are also strong cases to be made about the impact of wider determinants of ill health and this is the ongoing task of the Public Health team

5.6  The Chair thanked the officers for their detailed update adding that it would be helpful to hear back in a year on the work done in reducing the gaps locally and how the investment of resources marries up with that gap analysis. It would also be interesting to see greater clarity too on the strategy for improving social connection.

RESOLVED:

That the discussion be noted.