Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Acting Director of Public Health

The Board considered a report of the Acting Director of Public Health which provided an update on the prevention element of the Better Health, Better Care Better Value Proactive and Prevention workstream.

The report referred to the Coventry and Warwickshire Better Health, Better Care and Better Value vision and priorities. The vision had been developed in agreement with both Coventry and Warwickshire Health and wellbeing Boards and was ‘To work together to deliver high quality care which supports our communities to live well, stay independent and enjoy life.’ It was based around a number of transformational work streams, one of which was ‘Proactive and Prevention – helping people to live healthier lifestyles and fulfil their potential so that they avoid or reduce the need for medical and social care.’

The Board were informed that improving health required a strong focus on prevention and early intervention. It required a refocusing away from services designed to deal with the consequences of severe health and care problems and/or services that rescued people in crisis situations. Instead the NHS and partners needed to ensure that strategies, service models and workforce development had a greater focus on keeping people healthy (prevention) and proactive early intervention to reduce the impact of health and wellbeing risks.

The Proactive and Preventative programme vision was ‘To galvanise effort, expertise and resource to stimulate a step change in commitment to prevention across the Health and wellbeing system’. This workstream had the biggest direct connection to the Council. The programme was governed by an Executive Group, chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive (People), consisting of representatives from the partner agencies.

The upscaling prevention programme aimed to manage individual health risks by focusing on early prevention to prevent health risks turning into ill health and, where people had health problems, to stop them escalating to where they required significant, complex and specialist health and care interventions. The project would be aimed at individuals ‘at risk’ and would take an early intervention/prevention. The Board noted that the Council’s Public Health team were leading on this area to develop a joint approach to prevention.

The report highlighted that the upscaling prevention work would be split into two phases:

Phase 1 would create service and organisational ownership of the prevention agenda

Phase 2 would look at key areas of focus, for example staff health and wellbeing, making every contact count training and consistent community messages.

The Board noted that 20 days support from the Local Government Association had been secured for the project and would be used to deliver phase 1. This work included a series of workshops/events for leaders and champions; film/record stories; establish a cohort/network of champions; and develop a prevention toolkit. Further information was provided on the delivery of the key areas of phase 2.

The approach to upscaling prevention was currently being discussed at both the STP Board and the Health and Wellbeing Board. It was anticipated that the Upscaling Prevention work would be launched at the Joint Coventry and Warwickshire Health and Wellbeing Boards Development Day on 13^th December, 2017.

Members raised a number of issues in response to the report and responses were provided, matters raised included:

·  How could Scrutiny become involved/ feed into series of events and workshops to be set up as part of phase 1

·  The use of patients’ data to target those who would benefit from healthy lifestyles choices

·  Concerns about the reduction in funding to support local authority public health preventative initiatives

·  Further information about the financial implications of finding the workstream.   

RESOLVED that:

(1) The progress against the prevention element of the Proactive and Prevention workstream be noted.

(2) Further update reports on Upscaling Prevention be submitted to future meetings of the Board as appropriate.

(3) A briefing note detailing the Board’s concerns that prevention work is not funded by the STP be submitted to a future meeting of the Coventry Health and Wellbeing Board.