Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health and the Director of Public Health, and to consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decisions to (a) change the service delivery for individual lifestyle services into an integrated service called One You Kent and to (b) extend current contracts for health lifestyle services until 20 September 2017, to take account of emerging changes in the health and social care system.

Ms K Sharp, Head of Public Health Commissioning, was in attendance for this and the following item.

1.            Ms Sharp introduced the report and the new model of service delivery, which was the latest stage in a process of extending and re-aligning services, reported to the committee over the last 18 months. The NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), published on 23 November 2016, had set out clear aims which supported this direction. However, to allow further work on developing the new model to take full account of this most recent document, it was proposed that current contracts be extended until September 2017. Ms Sharp and Mr Scott-Clark responded to comments and questions, as follows:-

a)    the extension of current contracts was generally supported by speakers, as was the holistic approach being taken to assessments;

b)    the importance of including allergy testing was emphasised, as it was known that people often had more than one health problem and that such problems could impact upon each other.  Ms Sharp explained that, although key performance indicators would continue to be used to monitor future progress, linked behaviours could be identified and measured within monitoring activity; and

c)    concern was expressed about the limited impact, so far, of current healthy eating campaigns, and the resistance of some people to change their habits. Although fast food in moderation was not harmful, too many people relied upon it as their regular daily diet. Mr Scott-Clark emphasised that much of the chronic disease caused by unhealthy lifestyles was preventable. Public health campaigns were committed to continuing to tackle these lifestyle choices, to minimise the future burden upon health and social care services of having to deal with the longer-term effects of them. Life expectancy was not consistent across the Kent population and services would be targeted where there was greatest need.

2.            Mr Gibbens thanked Members for their comments and undertook to take account of them when taking the decision.

3.            RESOLVED that:-

a)    the work with partners to shape the new model for Adult Lifestyle Services and NHS Health Checks be noted; and

b)    the decisions proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, to change the service delivery for individual lifestyle services into an integrated lifestyle service called One You Kent and extend current contracts for healthy lifestyle services until 30 September 2017, to take account of emerging changes in the health and social care system, be endorsed.