Decision details

Officers of Public Health and Wellbeing, Lancashire County Council provided an update on work to address the three key Health and Wellbeing Board priorities:

(i)  Best Start in Life

(ii)  Healthy Hearts

(iii)  Happier Minds

An update was given on the associated milestones and performance to 31 December 2024, as outlined in Appendix 'A' on the agenda.  Further information can also be found  in the report.

Steve Morton, Consultant in Public Health – Best Start in Life, Lancashire County Council provided a further update on activity and progress to 31 December 2024, including performance metrics, forward look and opportunities for improvement/further collaboration which can be found in the report.

The Board noted that opportunities for collaboration/advocacy of the Board was to continue its support to ensure:

• An integrated approach to deliver on the areas identified across services including health partners.
• Commitment to joint commissioning and funding between the NHS Integrated Care Board, County Council, and other relevant partners where appropriate, for example in relation to speech and language services and oral health improvement.

Following the Best Start in Life presentation, the following comments were made:

• Concern was raised with regards to oral health and children starting school who were not toilet trained and that responsibilities in this area was falling to teachers, who are there to teach.  The Board were informed that this is a social problem not a medical issue and that work is ongoing in Family Hubs on educating parents and young children in oral health as well as other social issues.  There are also a lot of resources being put into oral health.
• It was welcomed that there had been some progress on oral health and that conversations were happening as it can have a huge impact in the quality of life and there is Public Health intervention happening and work is ongoing.
• Speech and language will be a continued focus for the Board as again it can lead to lifelong impacts.  It was noted that the Speech and Language Plan will be shared at a future meeting.

Aidan Kirkpatrick, Consultant in Public Health – Healthy Hearts, Lancashire County Council provided a further update on activity and progress to 31 December 2024, including performance metrics, forward look and opportunities for improvement/further collaboration which can be found in the report.

The Lancashire Healthy Hearts Programme was set up in Spring 2022, which was in line with the National Best Practice Framework (published by Public Health England and the Association of Directors of Public Health) encompassing the following seven thematic workstreams:

(i)  Tobacco

(ii)  Alcohol

(iii)  Physical activity

(iv)  Supporting healthy weight

(v)  Food diet and nutrition

(vi)  Health in all policies approach

(vii)  Cardiovascular risk modification

The Board noted that opportunities for collaboration/advocacy of the Board was that it had been a positive nine-month period for Healthy Hearts and key opportunities for collaboration included:

·  Ongoing engagement with General Practice teams to help develop further referral pathways between General Practice and the commissioned behaviour change programmes.

·  Working with and supporting NHS colleagues around the implementation of the NHS Position Statement on Physical Activity once it is published.

·  Aligning resource allocation to the broader prevention agenda, so that the appropriate level of assurance can be offered to the Health and Wellbeing Board regarding the implementation of the respective workstream delivery plans.

Following the Healthy Hearts presentation, the following comments were made:

·  It was pleasing to note that health checks had increased and surpassed pre-covid figures.

·  It was noted that the Board should focus more on physical activities going forwards.

·  Smoking during pregnancy was still a concern in some districts, with higher figures in certain parts of the County.  However as the good work continues this will start to decrease as this is a key part of the agenda working closely with NHS commissioned colleagues and expectant mothers.

·  Lancashire County Council Maternity Services also offer in-house pregnancy support with the Smoke Free Service.

·  There has been a lot of improvement and achievement has been made in what the Board has set out to do, however obesity is now the new smoking issue which undermines the other benefits that have been achieved in Lancashire.  It was noted that work continued to tackle the issue of obesity in Lancashire which can also affect the emotional aspects.

·  Primary care is under a lot of pressure and the preventative work that is being done, is supporting residents from entering the system.

·  It was noted that 72% of clinical effectiveness around appropriate management of hypertension is a considerable achievement and Primary Care have risen to the challenge.

·  The next area for collaboration work between the County Council and District Councils is complex housing needs.

·  It was requested that the Board receive data at a future meeting on obesity to help understand the issues, in order to address the health inequalities.

Paula Hawley-Evans, Consultant in Public Health – Happier Minds, Lancashire County Council provided a further update on activity and progress to date, including performance metrics, forward look and opportunities for improvement/further collaboration which can be found in the report.

The Board were reminded that Happier Minds is a partnership and system leadership approach to promoting good mental health in individuals and communities. There is a lot of work in Lancashire that supports this programme, including statutory provision.  The programme focusses on addressing six key strands of work:

(i)  Emotional wellbeing and self-care

(ii)  Loneliness and social isolation 

(iii)Substance use - alcohol and drugs 

(iv)Self-harm and suicide prevention 

(v)  Dementia 

(vi)Gambling related harm

The Board noted that opportunities for collaboration/advocacy of the Board were to continue to focus on delivering the Happier Minds priorities through partnership working with key stakeholders across communities.  This includes the Lancashire Drug and Alcohol Partnership, Lancashire and South Cumbria Suicide Prevention Oversight Group, the Lancashire Complex Needs Alliance and Lancashire's Smokefree Alliance.

Following the Happier Minds presentation, the following comments were made:

·  In terms of loneliness and social isolation events, the Board noted that around 500 people had attended and approximately 50 volunteers had been involved, however, if required this can be scaled up.

·  It is felt that there is a much wider implication in terms of loneliness and social isolation.

·  In terms of the increase in ketamine abuse, Public Health have commissioned We Are With You to go into schools and speak to pupils on the wider substance misuse agenda.

·  Social isolation is particularly prevalent in rural areas and social prescribing teams are addressing this, particularly in Chorley, through funding from Local Government and Primary Care Networks.  There is also the Lancashire Volunteer Partnership Befriending Service too.

·  Work is ongoing around self-harm in 10-14 year olds with colleagues in the Integrated Care Board and there is still a lot more work to do in terms of wraparound care/support in terms of young people's mental health.

Resolved:  (i)  That the Health and Wellbeing Board considered the performance update and endorsed the areas identified as opportunities for wider collaboration and advocacy of the Board.

(ii)  That Steve Morton, Consultant in Public Health, Lancashire County Council presents the Speech and Language Plan to the Health and Wellbeing Board at a future meeting.

(iii)  It was requested that Aidan Kirkpatrick, Consultant in Public Health, Lancashire County Council would present the Board with data at a future meeting on obesity to help understand the issues, in order to address the health inequalities.