Agenda item

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Strategic Commissioning

and Public Health and the Director of Public Health, setting out the development

of a Prevention Workstream and Strategy for the Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Kent and Medway Health and Social Care system. Members are asked to comment on the progress of the Workstream and the future planned work.

1.            Dr Duggal introduced the report and explained that she had recently taken over the prevention work stream and that Andrew Scott-Clark and James Williams, the Directors of Public Health for Kent and Medway respectively, were the SROs for the project.  The project initially had four key areas of work – obesity, smoking cessation, work place health and reducing alcohol consumption, with obesity and smoking cessation being the top priorities.  A draft action plan and programme plan would be submitted to the STP work stream board for approval, but the budget for the project would need initial cash input before work could start.  Dr Duggal then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following:-

a)     work on the various work streams (for example, obesity and smoking) would inevitably overlap to some extent, as behaviours tended to be linked, and tackling this work as part of the STP meant that it could happen at a higher level and could be co-ordinated across the south east.  The embedding of prevention work as part of the STP was welcomed. Various speakers highlighted the links and overlaps between other prevention work streams named and concern was expressed that, beside work on smoking cessation, drug use should also be tackled. 

b)     Unhealthy behaviours were often developed as a crutch during times of hardship, so the partners involved in the work should include the Job Centre. Dr Duggal confirmed that all available partnership links would be exploited and that areas in which work should be prioritised in the STP work plan would be identified using statistics for deprivation and premature mortality (defined as death before age 75 from preventable causes);

c)     the clarity of the report and the current activity described were both welcomed but concern expressed that funding available might ultimately prove insufficient to cover all the planned worked, so Directors of Public Health would need to seek additional funding for this purpose. Dr Duggal agreed that it was possible that the budget might be insufficient but the overlapping and streamlining of work should make the best use of the funding available, e.g. GPs could use a patient’s visit to the surgery to introduce preventative work relating to other aspects of their lifestyle or habits;

d)     asked what the County Council was doing to support and improve the health and fitness of its staff, as many worked long hours and could not afford gym prices, Dr Duggal explained that work on an integrated approach to staff health, lifestyle and physical activity would be starting soon;

e)     the importance of good communications and consistency of message across the county were emphasised.  Other suggested partner organisations were churches, community advice centres and food banks.  As well as the links already mentioned, there was also a link between obesity and a patient’s mental health.  Dr Duggal explained that the One You campaign had been designed to draw together the various aspects of public health and lifestyles and address them in an integrated way;

f)      the wide range of preventative literature available at a local GP’s surgery was welcomed by one speaker, who added that keeping fit did not need to involve gym fees and attendance, so cost was not an excuse; walking and keep-fit at home cost nothing;

g)     public health work was vital to modern life and its role should not be underestimated.  The active role taken by the public health team was welcomed, and the value of behavioural economics in seeking to influence people’s behaviours was emphasised;

h)     media coverage had shown that teenagers were smoking and drinking less than previously but instead used other substances which were more dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. The earlier suggestion that drug use be added to the work stream was supported. What was perhaps needed was a media message that smoking was not ‘cool’. Dr Duggal advised that smoking was still the greatest cause of premature death in Kent.  She suggested, and it was supported, that a report on the use of psycho-active substances be submitted to a future meeting of the committee; and

i)       the Chairman commented that the consensus of views arising from the discussion of this item, e.g. supporting the four work streams and the importance of advertising, was most encouraging. He added that the film industry was responsible for presenting a number of risky behaviours as ‘glamourous’ and suggested that this also be borne in mind among campaign advertising.

2          It was RESOLVED that Members’ comments on the progress of the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Programme prevention work stream and the future planned work, and suggestions for partner organisations which could be involved, be noted, and that a report on the use of psycho-active substances be submitted to a future meeting of the committee.