Agenda item

This paper provides the Health and Wellbeing Board with an update on the implementation and delivery of one of the ten big goals within the Local Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2032.

The Director of Public Health presented the update, which included highlighting Section 10 which showed that there were inequalities and exceptional rates of mortality in excluded groups within the strategy, as also evidenced in Ms Kerrison’s speech in the Public Participation section.

The Director of Public Health responded to questions from Board Members regarding:

·        Multiple categories of disadvantage, which mean a patient may not fit into a single individual category; the Director of Public Health advised that this was evolving, and work had been undertaken on dual diagnosis, particularly drugs/alcohol and mental health. He suggested that trauma tended to be siloed and professionals should become more used to discussing these issues with one another to determine the best place for a patient at any given time. He noted that the housing issue was also a factor here.

·        Answering whether there were metrics on which schemes are working and which may need further development, the Director of Public Health indicated that there was a larger, broader paper summarising these metrics and this will be brought back to the Board allowing for deeper analysis of progress and impact on Goal 6 at a future date.

·        It was highlighted that the trans community in particular had very lengthy wait times and while the ICS was looking into this, it was not ideal given the vulnerability of that cohort. The Director of Public Health said responsibility for this may lie directly with the Commissioner at a national level, but the issue would be discussed with the ICB.

·        Barriers to health access existed for deaf people, who had higher inequalities despite generally healthier lifestyles. The Chair advised that the latter issue would be going before the Executive imminently and requested the Director of Public Health assess and refine it prior to submission. The Director of Public Health agreed that including those with hearing and visual sensory issues as an equality group in this report would be beneficial going forward.

·        Regarding the voluntary sector the Chair noted that the Board needed to ensure treating people with kindness and understanding was enshrined, especially when it came to marginalised groups. The Chair of York CVS noted his involvement as Community Commissioner for the Poverty Truth Commission (PTC), since the PTC had come up in the context of this report. He noted that the PTC would be publishing its report in April, but once they had completed their work, the organisations within the Board would need to commit to contribute to this on a fundamental level.

·        It was noted that the Data on Excess Deaths in the Annex A table was dated 2021. The Director of Public Health noted that this was published in March 2023, and he would usually expect an annual refresh of data. Unfortunately, this was a national data set and not within his remit directly.

·        Employment rate for people with Learning Difficulties is wider than national average – was there a reason for this?

·        It was highlighted that gypsy/traveller community health inequality statistics were also stark; the Director of Public Health noted that a health needs assessment had been published on the Council’s website and an action plan was also being brought forward on this. There was a multi-agency group including the York Travellers Trust who were addressing these statistics.

Resolved: That the Health and Wellbeing Board noted and commented on the updates provided within this report and its associated annexes.

Reason: To ensure that the Health and Wellbeing Board fulfilled its statutory duty to deliver on one of the ten big goals within the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2032.