Agenda item

Briefing note of the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing

Councillors K Caan and G Hayre, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item

The Committee considered a briefing note and presentation of Liz Gaulton, Director of Public Health and Wellbeing which informed about the Coventry Health and Wellbeing Strategy Refresh and provided an opportunity for Members to make any recommendations or comments as part of the engagement process. Councillors Caan and Hayre, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport and Councillor M Mutton, Cabinet Member for Adult Services attended the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The report indicated that the current Health and Wellbeing Strategy was approved in 2019, following consultation and engagement with key stakeholders and members of the public. As part of the development of the Strategy, it was agreed that the short-term priorities would be reviewed and refreshed every 12 to 18 months to ensure that these still reflected the key issues and challenges facing Coventry residents. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the city and residents and the proposed changes within the health and social care system had further strengthened the need to refresh the Health and Well-being Strategy to ensure that the priorities contained within it remained relevant. The current short term priorities were:

•  Loneliness and social isolation

•  Young people’s mental health and well-being

•  Working differently with our communities.

A stocktake of key outcomes and learning from the current Strategy had been undertaken, the details of which were set out in an Appendix to the report. The report summarised progress and key outcomes with the three short term priorities. In relation to loneliness and social isolation, partners had set up a number of initiatives over the last 18 months to tackle this issue.  Health and care partners had worked together during this time to make significant changes in order to adapt the emotional well-being and mental health offer to ensure children and young people’s needs were met during the Covid-19 pandemic including improved access to support and increasing the digital offer available.

Partners had also worked closely with communities to minimise the impact of Covid-19 and co-ordinate the response to the pandemic, with the aim of protecting and supporting vulnerable residents.

There were a number of lessons learnt from these three priorities:

·  Profile and commitment - Board partners had raised their profile and galvanised commitment to work in partnership specifically to address children and young people’s mental health and well-being, work differently with communities and reduce social isolation and loneliness.

·  Population Health model - the King’s Fund population health model had been helpful in mobilising partners around each of the four pillars and highlighted the roles that different organisations could play in delivering the strategy priorities.

·  Stronger partnership working - Across the three priorities, clear benefits had been realised through new collaborations both with organisations that may not historically have recognised their role in contributing to health and wellbeing outcomes, but also directly with communities themselves, with communities playing an equal and trusted part in the city’s response to the pandemic.

·  Demonstrating impact – due to the pandemic, work on developing a performance framework to monitor outcomes and impact had been delayed.

The briefing note highlighted that, following a review of evidence from a range of sources, including needs assessments that had been conducted as well as survey data, workshops with stakeholders and senior partners and the learning from the current Strategy priorities, the Health and Well-being Board agreed that the existing Strategy priorities were the right areas of focus for the Strategy and needed to continue, albeit with a stronger emphasis in the following key areas:

·  focus on employment and homelessness as a prevention opportunity: recognising the impact of poverty on the well-being of residents and on children especially following changes such as the end of furlough, universal credit and the end of ‘no evictions’

·  Mental health for adults also needed to be included in the strategy due to the increasing levels of need

·  Strengthen working with communities and the voluntary community sector, building on the work undertaken during the last 18 months and continuing to unlock the power of local assets by improving the connectivity between the Health and Wellbeing Board and communities and the Board and place based working

·  Need to ensure work in the overlap between priorities e.g. communities and isolation may have a new slant with different communities coming to Coventry i.e. Afghan refugees

The revised strategy would be shared with the Health and Well-being Board in the New Year for consideration and endorsement, with the development of action plans for implementation during Spring 2022. The Committee were informed that any comments and recommendations made at this meeting would inform the final draft Strategy and would be reported to Health and Wellbeing Board in the New Year.

Councillor Caan reported on the successful partnership work of the Health and Wellbeing Board and Councillor Mutton informed of the need to include members from the voluntary and community sector in the Board’s membership.

Members questioned the officers on a number of issues and responses were provided, matters raised included:

·  How would the strategy be implemented

·  With reference to social isolation, the importance of the built environment, for example putting in measures to enable elderly people to go out and about in their locality

·  Details of successful measures introduced during lockdown to support lonely and isolated residents

·  A suggestion that air quality should be included in the strategy, especially due to the impact that poor air quality had on people with health issues

·  An acknowledgement of the importance of parks and green spaces

·  A request for details about the consultation process including plans for engaging with the community

·  Details about Section 106 funding from new planning developments with particular reference to the NHS funding contribution in light of concerns about the pressures being put on existing health provisions by an increasing city population.

·  What were the lasting legacies from the partnership working had been taking place during the covid pandemic

Clarification/ assurances were sought on a number of issues in the briefing note concerning the consultation process since not all residents had access to social media – had contact been made with GP surgeries, mosques, local pubs etc. Further information was requested about what was happening to prevent mental health problems, especially in children along with details about the mental health support teams and the grass route community organisations referred to in the briefing note. Additional information was also asked for on managing partners’ performance. Officers indicated that a response would be provided.

RESOLVED that:

(1) The process for the development of the refreshed Coventry Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy be noted

(2) Councillor Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport be requested to include air quality and its links to the built environment in the Health and Well-being Strategy

(3) A report on Section 106 funding, with particular reference to the different contributions, be submitted to a future meeting of the Board and the Board’s work programme be updated accordingly.