Agenda item

Health and Wellbeing Strategy

To receive an update on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Minutes:

Tracy Daszkiewicz, Director Public Health Berkshire West and Lyndon Mead, Public Health, provided an update on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

 

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

 

·       Matt Pope commented that the agenda items were to provide the committee with a high-level overview of some of the important areas of work in Adult Social Care and Health and Wellbeing.

·       Members were advised that the Health and Wellbeing Strategy had been adopted jointly across Berkshire West.  Wokingham had developed a Strategy into Action delivering the Wellbeing outcomes specifically for the Borough.

·       The Health and Wellbeing Strategy aimed to incorporate all aspects of local authority input into residents’ health and wellbeing and across the whole life course.

·       Health inequalities and equity were important topics. 

·       Resident’s health and wellbeing sat within a broad context:

Ø  Wider determinants of health – e.g., housing, jobs, school readiness, schools, and economic prosperity;

Ø  Health behaviours and lifestyles – e.g., green open spaces and active travel;

Ø  Integrated health and care system – planning future services and joined up thinking;

Ø  Places and communities we live in, and with – ensuring safe and thriving communities.

·       The Committee considered a diagram representing the Social Determinants of Health.  Consideration was given to how services were accessed throughout the life course.

·       The development of the Integrated Care System gained Royal Assent on 1 July.  The Health and Wellbeing Strategy sat within the Health and Wellbeing Board and was the springboard from which the Integrated Care Partnership strategy was being derived.  Having a clear and needs driven Health and Wellbeing Strategy was essential for meaningful representation of the health and wellbeing of residents within the Integrated Care System.

·       Guided by the overarching principles of the Berkshire West Health & Wellbeing Strategy, the Wokingham Strategy into Action (SiA) determined the priorities for focus within the Borough to improve resident health and wellbeing.

·       Five Berkshire West wide priorities had been adopted as well as a Wokingham specific priority of ‘Creating physically active communities.’  The priorities had been mapped to a range of relevant action or partnership groups.  They were developing action plans on delivering against their particular area.  Each action/partnership group was responsible for delivery of their action plan and for reporting progress to the newly established SiA Steering Group, who provided operational oversight of SiA delivery on behalf of the Wellbeing Board.

·       The Committee noted the governance and reporting structure.  Some areas were further along in terms of action.

·       A Member was of the view that the Committee should monitor the work on making the Borough dementia friendly and particularly how this was filtered out to the parishes, which could be more isolated.

·       A Member commented that a lot of the action identified for improving physical activity already appeared to be underway.  Matt Pope commented that the action plans had a good focus on the priorities and were making a difference.

·       Members felt that it was important to highlight action that would otherwise not have taken place had the Strategy not been in place.

·       In response to a Member question, it was clarified that the Strategy had been updated as the previous strategy had been out of date.  Priorities had been selected following consultation.

·       A Member wished to focus further on the priority around achieving a better outcome for children and young people.  Matt Pope emphasised that it was important that the work of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee not be duplicated.

·       In response to a question regarding reporting timelines, Lyndon Mead indicated that each group had reported to the Steering Group at least once.  It was hoped that those groups that had reported first would be able to evidence progress within the next 2-3 months.  He emphasised that different groups were at different stages.  Members felt that it would be useful to see what areas were progressing and what were not.

 

RESOLVED:  That the update on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy be noted and that Tracy Daszkiewicz and Lyndon Mead be thanked for their presentation.

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