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Agenda item

Annual Public Health Report 2018

The Sub-Committee is asked to review the report and considered whether it wishes to make any recommendations.

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health, Rachel Flowers, was in attendance at the meeting to provide the Sub-Committee with an update on the Annual Public Health Report.  During the introductory presentation the following points were noted:-

·         There was approximately 6,000 babies born in Croydon each year and the report from the Director of Public Health focussed on the early experiences of young children in the borough.

·         The evidence had shown that the experience of children in their early years was key to their future development, with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) having a significant impact.

·         Determinants on a person’s life included their parent’s health before, during and after pregnancy, their experiences in their first 1000 from conception and ACEs such as neglect and abuse.

·         The three key principles of the approach set out by the Director of Public Health were for staff and Members to know their role, with everybody able to make a difference, ensuring health was a consideration in all Council policies and breaking the inequalities cycle.

·         Since the report was approved by the Cabinet, it had also been considered by the Board of the Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), both of whom agreed with the recommendations.

·         Works streams arising from the report including improving the provision of joined up maternal mental health pathways, with conversations ongoing with SLaM about women with long and enduring mental health issues preparing for pregnancy.

·         Work was underway with voluntary and community sector organisations to feed into the public health approach towards violence reduction.

·         There had recently been a Vulnerable Adolescent Mental Health Review, which would inform the work of the Children & Young People Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Board.

·         As part of the work streams on promoting health during pregnancy there was support being provided for prospective parents including a Joint Health Weight Steering Group and support to help parents quit smoking.

·         The partners were continuing to work toward reaching the target of 95% MMR immunisations. As part of this, the move by the Government to remove anti-vaccination information from social media was welcomed.

·         Looking forward, consideration was being given to whether work plans needed to be adapted to ensure the delivery of the recommendations set out in the report.   A task and finish group of the Health & Wellbeing Board would be set up to have an assurance role on the delivery of the recommendations.

Following the presentation the Sub-Committee was given the opportunity to question the Director of Public Health on the content of the report. It was noted that the report contained many different work streams, involving the input from different partners. As such it was questioned how this work would be coordinated to ensure a shared focus. In response it was highlighted that the report was independent and had been informed by input from front line staff and other sources of evidence. The Public Health team had been working with the Health and Wellbeing Board to provide oversight.

It was noted that there had been a growth in the need for baby food bags, which resulted in referrals to a social work meaning that any potential issues were being picked up. Concern was raised about other children potentially at risk that were not being picked up through this process. It was advised that conversations were taking place about providing wrap around support as needed. There were a wide range of departments and teams that interacted with families and it was essential to ensure that potential issues were not missed and the right intervention was offered.

In response to a question about whether this was a new approach, it was advised that the basis for the report was anecdotal evidence on the importance of early year of children’s lives and the negative impact from ACEs. The aim of the report was to provide a shared understanding through providing the current information on the subject.

As there were 34 recommendation set out in the report, it was questioned how these were being prioritised. It was advised that they were independent recommendations, so it was a choice by partner organisations whether to follow them or not. Within the 34 recommendations there were four key recommendations.

In response to a question about how the detail of the report would be communicated to the general public, it was highlighted that the report was targeted toward the people working with the people of Croydon rather than local people themselves.

It was confirmed that physical disability was considered to be an Adverse Childhood Experience, but was not mentioned in the report, as it had focused on the ten highest ranked.  It was accepted that this could have been made clearer within the report.

In response to a question about the availability of data from other local authorities to enable to the Sub-Committee make an assessment of the Council’s performance in this area, it was advised that it would not necessarily be helpful to make such a comparison.

The Chair thanked the Director of Public Health for her attendance at the meeting and answering the Sub-Committee’s questions.

Conclusions

Following the discussion of this item, the Sub-Committee concluded that the Director of Public Health should be thanked for her informative report, which highlighted the importance of the support provided to parents and their children.

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