Agenda item

Matt Fung, Public Health Consultant, gave a presentation on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Annual Summary. Generally, health in Worcestershire was good relative to England but there were some persistent indicators which remained of concern and more recently, COVID-19 related issues, such as long-COVID, bereavement and mental health problems had become more of a concern. COVID-19 had not affected the population of Worcestershire equally, exacerbating inequalities with regard to who got COVID-19, who had received the vaccination and how people had been affected, for example children being disadvantaged by lost education time.

When reviewing the priorities of the Health and Well-being Strategy, the ‘mental health and well-being throughout life’ priority showed fairly stable trends, and it was recognised that the development of the new strategy would take things forward in this area. There were more indicators for the priority ‘being active at every age’ which were positive and moving in the right direction. For the priority ‘reducing harm from alcohol’ indicators there was also improvement, with the numbers completing treatment increasing, however, the data did not yet cover the COVID-19 period meaning it should be treated with caution.

The Local Government Association’s (LGA’s) input to the Health and Well-being Board’s recent governance review suggested the JSNA had been previously well-researched, but highlighted room for improvement, particularly with regard to the narrative supporting data and how it could be used for the good of the local population. Matt Fung explained the intent for the JSNA to become more of a living document for use by all partners, including the Voluntary and Community Sector and District Councils, driving strategies.

Finally, it was proposed that an Observatory function be introduced in Worcestershire with information and narrative available from County level through to Ward level, integrating NHS dashboards.

In the following discussion various points were raised:

·        With regard to the JSNA annual summary and information presented, there was a query as to why some areas had an increase in life expectancy and others, a reduction. It was explained that it depended on where the figure started and noted that it was still too early to fully understand the impact of COVID-19.

·        For the new strategy in development, it was cautioned that indicators should be selected carefully and include those related to social care demand; for example, mental health problems in parents could have an effect on families and potential services needed for children. It was agreed that input from Worcestershire Children First (WCF) would be welcomed.

·        It was felt that some families were not identified as needing help until they were in an emergency situation. There needed to be a way to identify them at an early stage; perhaps by the different organisations being better at sharing information, to enable early intervention and potentially prevent them needing acute care at a later date.

·        A District Councillor highlighted the frequency that constituents raised housing issues, but were also suffering with their mental health; suggesting such wider determinants of health be included as indicators given the profound impact on an individual’s well-being.

·        It was recognised that one of the challenges of the integrated care journey was joining up the multiple sources of information and then equipping professionals with the skills to be able to use the information,  both for treatment and also for strategies and resource allocation.

·        Matt Fung clarified that the Observatory would provide more joined-up population data for the system, enabling targeting of services to support gaps in provision. The intention was to further engage and work with partners to support strategy development. Members agreed that there should be a focus on the virtual concept and outcomes.

·        It was explained that there were existing collaborations which looked at national data sets, but the Worcestershire Observatory would deal with local needs. The data would enable actions to be taken earlier in the process to reduce the amount of more extensive interventions later on.

·        It was suggested that rather than trying to implement a new system, realism was needed to improve the systems and services which were already in place, such as lifestyle advisors and social prescribers. It was recognised that there was a lack of resources and funding, and a risk that improved systems were talked about but not implemented.

RESOLVED that the Health and Well-being Board:

a)     noted the wide-ranging consequences of COVID-19, and disproportionate impact on those most deprived in Worcestershire;

b)    noted previous progress against Joint Health and Well-being Strategy (JHWS) indicators and need for careful selection of new JHWS indicators

c)     noted the proposed changes and direction of travel of the JSNA as a result of the LGA review; and

d)    supported exploring how a Worcestershire Observatory could provide a way forward.