Agenda item

This report provides a progress update from the development group on activities so far and notes the emerging interim priorities.

Dr Melanie Smith (Director of Public Health, Brent Council) introduced the update on the progress of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. She reminded the Board they had previously agreed that, recognising the light Covid-19 had shone on health inequalities and the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Brent’s Communities, the Strategy would focus on inequalities. She advised that from that came a focus on the social determinants of health.

The Board heard that, since the last update, work had been done with the assistance of Healthwatch and other community groups to consult with local communities about what they felt was important about their health. The outcome of those conversations had shown that the focus on social determinants of health was what communities expected to see from the Council and NHS. Dr Melanie Smith advised that there were particularly concerns about the impact of the pandemic on young people and people with disabilities. There was a desire from communities for the strategy to recognise the assets, such as community organisations, that existed within Brent and how those assets could be mobilised. Language was also discussed. For example, when the team had spoken about obesity, communities had not spoken to the team about obesity, but instead about the desire to be able to eat healthily, for a healthy diet to be easier and more accessible, and for children to be more physically active.

Dr Melanie Smith drew the Board’s attention to paragraph 3.15 of the report which detailed the areas of focus agreed at the last Board meeting, and 3.17 which described those priorities in a way it was hoped would resonate with communities. The Appendix to the report included some infographics which would form the basis of the next stage of consultation. The next stage involved going back to the communities that had been engaged and expanding the conversation to ensure that what had been heard had been heard correctly, that priorities and actions were being described in a way that resonated, and asking what should be done about those actions by the Council, NHS, individual families and communities.

Councillor Nerva (Lead Member for Public Health, Culture and Leisure) emphasised the need for a strategy which, for the first time, recognised the need to address inequalities to keep people healthy. He added that the document should be seen as integral to the authority’s current strategies such as the Climate Emergency Strategy, the Black Community Action Plan, the Poverty Commission and the overall Borough Plan. The Strategy had been taken through the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and a useful member development session, which had raised points around active travel and school streets. Both the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee had done pieces of work that Councillor Nerva felt were useful to benchmark to see how they could be embedded into the strategy, such as the Poverty Task Group, Air Quality Task Group and Access to GP and Primary Care Task Group. On a final note he spoke about how far the Council and NHS could go to ‘bend the spend’ and invest in prevention.

The Chair thanked Dr Melanie Smith and Councillor Nerva for the introduction and invited comments and questions from those present, with the following issues raised:

·         Judith Davey (CEO, Healthwatch Brent) advised that as the champion for resident and patient voice in the Borough, the focus on social determinants of health was welcomed. She advised she was delighted to be partnering with colleagues on the consultation of the strategy and working alongside Brent Health Matters. In terms of reception, she advised that the emerging priorities were landing well with the public and it was felt they addressed the issues people faced.

·         Dr M C Patel (NWL CCG) also welcomed the approach on the social determinants of health, noting it was incredibly important to prevent people getting ill in the first place and teach people how to be healthy. However, he advised there were still a vast number of people within the community with illnesses and long term conditions that needed to be controlled, and felt there was a need for equal focus on prevention and controlling symptoms of those who had already developed conditions so that they could lead healthier lives.

RESOLVED:

      I.        To note the work so far to develop the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and to note the emerging interim priorities currently in stage two consultation.