Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing

The Board considered a report and presentation of the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing concerning her Annual Report for 2017/8 ‘Healthier for Longer, Securing Healthy Futures for our Communities’, a copy of which was set out at an appendix to the report. The report included recommendations for health and wellbeing partners across Coventry. The annual report had also been submitted to the Health and Well-being Board at their meeting on 8^th October. Councillor Abbott, Cabinet Member for Adult Services attended the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The report was a statutory report produced each year. This year the report focused on healthy aging and the health of older people. It had been produced in partnership with Adult Social Care.

Information was provided on the health of Coventry’s older population, with the city having an estimated 50,400 residents aged 65 and over. The population of those over the age of 75 was projected to increase by nearly 50% over the next 20 years. Reference was made to the gap between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy. In Coventry men could expect to live just over a fifth of their lives in poor health whilst women could expect to live almost a quarter of their lives in poor health.

The annual report took the opportunity to highlight the importance of prevention and early intervention in promoting good health in later years, and managing the demand for health and social care services. The Board noted that Coventry was still behind the England average on many healthy behaviours and risk factors.

The report highlighted activities across the city to promote good health and prevent ill-health across all age groups to support increases in healthy life expectancy which included:

a) Tackling loneliness and social isolation

b) The new Healthy Lifestyles Coventry services commissioned by the Public Health team

c) Supporting those at risk of fuel poverty

d) Interventions from the Adult Social Care team to promote early help and maintain independence

e) Reducing delayed transfers from hospital

The report also highlighted the progress and commitment across health and wellbeing providers to make sure that residents received the right care when they needed it and in a way that met their needs and achieved their outcomes. Throughout the report there was a focus on an individual family and other members of the community to provide examples at living longer in good health.

The presentation provided information on aging in good health; what influenced healthy life expectancy; taking care of your body and mind; and the health and care services for the older population of Coventry. Attention was drawn to the recommendations of the Annual Report which were as follows:

Identify older people community assets

Promote community-based groups to combat social isolation

Encourage the further reduction of health inequalities including Marmot City

Increase the profile of ill health prevention

Improve immunisation rates through partnership working

Encourage co-design of services with older people

Design health and care pathways to deliver high quality care for older people.

The presentation concluded with an update on the recommendations from the 2016/17 Annual Report ‘Shape Up Coventry, The Urgency of Promoting Healthy Weight Among Children and Young People’.

Members raised a number of issues arising from the report and presentation and responses were provided, matters raised included:

·  A request for the information to be provided on a ward basis so Members were aware of particular issues relevant to their wards

·  Why were their differences in the ‘window of need’ between males and females

·  Support for the helpful and clear document

·  A concern that the family hubs hadn’t been located in local schools and the importance of using schools to provide support for families

·  The importance of publicity to promote ways of preventing dementia

·  The importance of a healthy diet and hydration for older people to avoid the complications associated with constipation

·  The impact that genetics play in determining a person’s health in later life

·  Further information about the immunisation programme

·  Further information about follow up support when people attend a and e and the fracture clinic after a fall, to prevent further falls

·  Clarification about the impact of the Marmot partnership work and any improvements that were now known

·  The importance in involving the over 65s in the development of the proposed programme of activities for City of Culture 2021

·  What work was being undertaken in the areas of highest deprivation to combat social isolation

RESOLVED that:

(1) The content of the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report be noted.

(2) The dissemination of the report be supported.

(3) The actions proposed be endorsed.

(4) Information on the follow up work with older people who attend A and E and the fracture clinic to prevent further falls be circulated to members.