Agenda item

(1)  Abraham George (Public Health Consultant) introduced the report which set out the changes made to the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment development process and provided a summary of the new priorities emerging from audits, briefings, chapter summaries and needs assessments as well as case studies from the Kent whole population cohort model.

(2)  In response to a question, Allison Duggal (Deputy Director of Public Health/Public Health Consultant) said the analysis and reports that had been undertaken by the Kent Public Health team included health inequalities. She added that the Sustainability Transformation Plan (STP) and prevention workstream concentrated on addressing the life expectancy gap between the least and most deprived.

(3)  In response to a question, Abraham George said that it was important for Public Health to continue to monitor health inequalities and understand the causes of health inequalities and the impact of various programmes. He emphasised the importance of understanding which programmes were the most effective, and that further investment in early diagnosis and treatment was required.

(4)  In response to a question, Abraham George said that for progress to be made, it was important that the Kent Public Health team had access to data to undertake analyses, and to have an integrated protocol to ensure that efficient ways of reporting the analyses were in place.

(5)  In response to a question, Allison Duggal said that greater investment from the STP delivery board and KCC was required on primary prevention services.

(6)  Resolved that:

(a)    It be agreed to adopt a broader consistent structure for outlining priorities for population health improvement, encompassing: primary prevention (lifestyle modification) for the whole population; secondary prevention (early diagnosis and treatment) for those at risk of LTCs e.g. Cancer and Mental Health; and tertiary prevention (recovery, rehabilitation and reablement of patients with complex needs), ensuring better quality of care;

(b)    Greater investment from the STP delivery board and KCC was required on primary prevention services such as smoking cessation and weight management integrated directly into local care and acute care models of the Kent & Medway STP;

(c)    Emphasis should be placed on Making Every Contact Count for workforce planning and understand in more detail how frontline NHS and social care staff can incorporate key principles such as better identification of risky behaviour, brief advice and onward referrals for lifestyle modification;

(d)    Social prescribing from primary care and onward referral to district and other public-sector services such as Fire and Rescue Safe and Well visits, Warm Home interventions to tackle fuel poverty and other home improvements to reduce unintentional injuries such as slips trips and falls be industrialised;

(e)    The use of risk profiling tools in primary care to identify patients at high risk of rehospitalisation who might benefit from social prescribing be industrialised and existing tools be improved by incorporating more information on social determinants of health, such as information on housing insulation and better governance arrangements to allow district officers and NHS clinicians to work together to access such tools; and

(f)      An update be added to a future agenda of the new Kent and Medway Joint Health and Wellbeing Board for review.