Agenda item

7.1

Greg Fell presented the report which summarised the key findings of three recent reports considering health inequalities in England:

1)    Health Equity in England: the Marmot Review 10 Years On, produced by the Institute of Health Equity and published on 25^th February 2020;

2)    Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19, produced by Public Health England (PHE) and published on 2^nd June 2020; and

3)    Beyond the data: Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups (PHE) and published on June 16^th 2020

7.2

It reflected on the Sheffield position in relation to these, and how they interacted with the current crisis.  It also reflected on work underway that was aiming to consider how Covid-19 was impacting on Sheffielders, and how this would contribute to addressing some of the issues raised in the reports, in the short term.

7.3

Greg Fell stated a key headline is that impact of Covid-19 is disproportionate on BAMER communities, due to structural inequalities, and that the response was the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, there was a need to focus on doing and then measure the outcomes.  The Marmot report was a little weak on the community aspects. There were many assets in Sheffield and the Marmot report should not be taken in isolation.  There was a need to build inequality impact assessments.  The Board Terms of Reference needed to be discussed by the board to ensure they were still fit for purpose.

7.4

Terry Hudsen noted that the report brought together complex information and was easy to understand.  Health inequality was a cross cutting theme in the strategy.  Did the strategy need to be more explicit regarding inequalities such as protected characteristics.  The focus should be on prevention.  Community led engagement was needed with a focus on cultural sensitivity in the responses.  A list of protected characteristics was needed to ensure there were no blind spots, but there is also a need to go beyond protected characteristics to consider layered inequality.

7.5

Councillor Jackie Drayton said that it was good to see the reports together and the board should be looking at how to commit to delivering the recommendations of the Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19 report.  Ethnicity recording should be carried out by the Council as a matter of course.  Communications were very important, how we use the information and how we write tender documents in the future needed to be looked at.  There was also a need for BAME experiences to be listened to.

7.6

Judy Robinson stated that there was a need to focus and keep things in balance.  A practical approach could be for the Health and Wellbeing Board to meet in other locations.

7.7

Greg Fell explained that location was one of the factors being looked at, but that hygiene factors needed to be taken into account.  It was hoped that and increased settlement would be available from the Government to offset some of the costs of Covid-19.  Sheffield City Council had done the right thing by overspending the public health budget to counter the disease.

7.8

Mark Tuckett noted that the report was helpful and that the Board also needed to reflect on its own make up with regards to the BAME community.

7.9

RESOLVED: That, (1) in considering the questions set out in the report in relation to the Healthwatch Annual Report, the Board’s answers be as follows:

·         Are there any other areas of work that should be explored as part of the work to address health inequalities in Sheffield, both pre-existing and those created and exacerbated by Covid-19? The Terms of Reference of the Board should be looked at to ensure they met the current needs of the city.

·         How work to address questions of representation and engagement in relation to the Board’s work be approached? Reports needed to be shorter and pithier and it would be necessary to deal with issues in a more rapid way.

(2) The content, conclusions and recommendations of the Marmot report, and the PHE reports, be noted;

(3) The Board recognise that work is ongoing to understand the impact of Covid-19 in Sheffield and how this impacts on different groups, with short term actions being put in place as these deliver intelligence;

(4) The Board recommit to delivering the Health & Wellbeing Strategy, recognising that the ambitions within it remain the building blocks of healthy lives for Sheffielders, and that the challenge in and importance of delivering on them is greater in the context of the pandemic;

(5) The Board commit to delivering at the local level the recommendations laid out in the second PHE report, where we have the powers to do so;

(6) The Board agree that responding to the challenges outlined above is not the responsibility of one organisation but of the whole city;

(7) The Board use the opportunity of the delayed Terms of Reference review to reflect on questions of representation and ways of working to ensure that the strategies it develops and delivers on reflects the concerns and interests of all Sheffielders, reflecting on this at their July Strategy Development Session and bringing proposals in response to the next Public Committee Meeting, and;

(8) The Board commit to working with all city partners and other bodies in the city on addressing the disparities in the impacts of Covid-19, health inequalities in general, and the root causes of these, in the short and long term, especially recognising the vital role of the VCS, BAME and Faith sector organisations and leads in this approach.