Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health concerning the Public Health Strategy. The City Council’s Cabinet agreed a Public Health Strategy at its meeting on 15th March 2017. Greg Fell, the Director of Public Health, explained that the strategy aimed to describe the Council’s ambition to redress inequalities and, specifically, the 25 year difference in healthy life expectancy through the totality of its functions.

A key feature of the strategy was a focus on the concept of Health in All Policies in order to make explicit and increase health gain from policies and service areas that are not traditionally considered as “health” related. There was also an acknowledgement that to deliver such an approach, it would be necessary to change the way the organisation thinks and does its business.The four objectives of the Strategy related to: health inequalities, health in all policies, health protection and healthy lifestyles. There were 10 specific areas within the Strategy upon which the Council would initially focus as set out in the Strategy.

The Health and Wellbeing Board was asked to consider how this approach could be developed.

The Board was asked to consider a number of questions, namely: whether priority areas identified in the Strategy were the right areas to be focusing on, and if there were any that were of more immediate interest; were there other areas we should be looking at; what role the Health and Wellbeing Board could play in maximising the impact of the strategy; how the Health and Wellbeing system in Sheffield could build upon this direction to improve wellbeing in the city; and how the Health and Wellbeing Board could work with the Council’s Scrutiny function to support the delivery of the Strategy?

Members of the Board asked questions and commented on this item of business, as summarised below:

There was a significant amount of activity in addition to the Public Health Strategy, including in relation to smoking cessation and prevention and air quality. The Strategy also had links to the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the Annual Report of Director of Public Health.

The Board expressed a number of different observations about the respective merits of having a broad strategic document as opposed to one which covered greater detail about activity, projects and operational matters.

It was consider that, whilst the Public Health Strategy was broad, it might be useful to identify where it could influence (and where it would not) and for the Board to consider some of the ten priority areas in greater detail and what organisations other than the Council were expected to contribute in this regard. It would also be helpful to say, if the priorities as set out in the Strategy were achieved, what was expected to happen to indicate that these were indeed the right priorities and how would we know that we had made a difference.

In relation to a work and health strategy, the three main issues were firstly, employability (i.e. ensuring that people could get back into work) and this was in progress; secondly, the health of people who were in work but poorly (sickness management); and thirdly, looking at those people who were both in work and well to make sure that issues of poor environments in the workplace were addressed.

The Strategy document identified that childhood experiences and inequalities in educational attainment were a key determinant of health outcomes. The Board may also consider how the ten priority areas would be brought back to the Board in future.

There would be further discussion about the detail of activity outlined in the Strategy and it was acknowledged that the Strategy would need   both to describe the means by which there would be accountability and be more explicit in some areas, including in relation to education, communities and neighbourhoods and inequalities. Specific issues such as tobacco control and air quality would be brought to the Health and Wellbeing Board for consideration in the future.  

The strategy was an “all age” strategy and it was considered that investment in children was the best thing to do in terms of its value. The timeframe of the strategy was two years (2017-19) and progress would be reviewed at the end of the two years, which would be subject of consideration by the Board.  Whilst the Council did not control other organisations in the City, the strategy had a role in influencing and setting a direction for Sheffield in respect of public health. The Strategy would also be submitted to the CCG in September 2017 and might also be presented to other organisations.

It was RESOLVED that the report and Public Health Strategy 2017-19 be noted and that the Director of Public Health be requested to submit a report to the Board having reviewed progress relating to the Strategy after March 2019.