Agenda item

To present the Public Health Annual Report (PHAR), highlighting how Public Health in Brent is addressing health inequalities through community centred approaches, with a focus on community engagement, social capital, and Radical Place Leadership.

Ruth du Plessis (Director of Public Health and Leisure, Brent Council) introduced the report and led a presentation detailing the Public Health Annual Report and the work of Public Health in Brent in addressing health inequalities in Brent. She advised Public Health was working through community-centred approaches and emphasised the three themes for reshaping public health – Community Engagement, Social Capital, and Radical Place Leadership. She thanked those involved in the drafting of the report for their collaboration, particularly Janice Constance (Principal Public Health Strategist, Brent Council) and her team, and communities and partners who had input.

The Chair thanked Ruth du Plessis for the introduction and invited contributions from those present, with the following points raised:

• The Board were pleased that Social Capital was a key theme for Public Health and that the report encapsulated the importance of relationships and networks through warm welcome spaces and the library exercise project, where over 270 residents had taken part.
• The Board commended the work in the report, particularly the integration of sports, culture and libraries, school-based oral health assessments, translation of letters into community languages and bigger policy campaigns such as treating gambling harm as a public health issue.
• The Board asked for more detail on how Public Health would ensure a joined-up, system-wide approach was in place to support vulnerable residents who may be using warm spaces. Ruth du Plessis advised that Public Health wanted to make every contact count, whichever way people presented to services. To do that, there was a need to upskill the workforce, and she highlighted that library staff had been very keen to support this approach and willing to learn these skills. Public Health wanted to build more on that with the neighbourhoods workstreams, and there was also the new Joy app that supported that join-up. Robyn Doran added that she had attended Willesden library recently and witnessed people using the blood pressure machines that were available, and in her local library there had been vaccinations being provided by CLCH, showcasing that approach towards making every contact count and bringing healthcare into the community.
• The Board raised concerns that 43.4% of 5-year-olds in Brent had obvious dental decay, compared to 22.4% nationally. They recognised the work Public Health were doing in that space, particularly with the oral health bus and its impactful visits to schools, but asked whether any more resource could be put in to make bigger improvements, raising concerns that this could affect the quality of life of those children and the number of children attending A&E. Ruth du Plessis acknowledged the concerns raised and advised that Public Health were putting more resource into oral health having secured more funding, and were pulling together dental packs and looking to expand the work particularly for children in school.
• The Board highlighted that progress with the Food Strategy had been challenged at a recent scrutiny meeting and asked for an update on where that was. Ruth du Plessis highlighted that the Food Strategy had been drafted and the Steering Group had reviewed it and fed back. The Public Health team was now reviewing that feedback and would send the draft strategy out for wider engagement before bringing it to the Health and Wellbeing Board.
• The Board queried where the data outlining ethnicity and language in the report had been obtained, and heard that some data would be from the Office for National Statistics (OFS) and some would be census data. Officers agreed to look into this and provide a response on where the data was obtained.

As no further issues were raised, the Board welcomed the report and thanked those involved, including Dr Melanie Smith as the predecessor of Director of Public Health who had overseen the report, and highlighted the need for sustained focus on oral health, particularly in children. The Board noted that the Food Strategy was coming to a future meeting, and asked for both the Public Health Annual Report and upcoming Food Strategy to be published prominently on the Council website.