Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Public Health & the Voluntary Sector

Forward Plan Ref: 2014/090

Contact: Rebecca Cooper, Consultant – Public Health Tel: (018654) 328553

Report by Director of Public Health (CA8).

This is the seventh Director of Public Health Annual Report.

As well as reporting on the overall state of health and wellbeing of the county, the paper:

·       Reports on the Public Health services that the county council is now responsible for as set out in legislation.

·       Reflects on the opportunities afforded by the return of Public Health to Local Government and sketch out some of what the future may hold.

The report begins with an analysis on these opportunities.

This is followed by sections reporting on services, important issues and progress in the following chapters:

1.               The Best Start in Life

2.               Improving Quality of Life for All

3.               Reducing Inequalities in Health

4.               Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to RECOMMEND Council to receive the report and note its recommendations.

Recommendation agreed.

Cabinet considered the seventh Director of Public Health Annual Report.

As well as reporting on the overall state of health and wellbeing of the county, the paper:

·        Reported on the Public Health services that the county council is now responsible for as set out in legislation.

·       Reflected on the opportunities afforded by the return of Public Health to Local Government and sketch out some of what the future may hold.

The report analysed these opportunities and included sections reporting on services, important issues and progress in the following chapters:

1.               The Best Start in Life

2.               Improving Quality of Life for All

3.               Reducing Inequalities in Health

4.               Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Glynis Phillips, Shadow Cabinet Member for Public Health and the Voluntary Sector commented on the report. She highlighted the good news on the Thriving families programme, welcomed the innovation around trainees, the support for young carers and for moving services into the workplace and community. She would have preferred to see more outcome-based evidence in the content and noted the duplication in the introduction. She commented that there were missed opportunities in the report such as the lack of reference to smoking cessation and air quality.

Councillor Biles responded to the points made noting that the Council had worked for many years with District Councils over air quality. She stressed that this was an independent report and that the content was determined by the Director for Public Health. On smoking cessation the County Council were doing quite well and she confirmed that school nurses would be picking the issue up. In introducing the report Councillor Hibbert Biles praised the hard work of the Team and referred to the work on commissioning integrated health services which was seen as an exemplar.

Jonathan McWilliam, presented the contents of the report and thanked members for their input including consideration by the Oxfordshire Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee. He highlighted the 6 challenges within the report around mental health, workplaces, smoking quitters, drugs and alcohol, uptake of health checks and working with the University Hospital Trust. He indicated that he saw opportunities in terms of reducing inequalities and the need to shape services to meet the needs of a diverse range of people.

During discussion Councillor Hudspeth noted the comments of the Oxfordshire Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee set out on the addenda. Members generally welcomed the report.

RESOLVED:           to RECOMMEND Council to receive the report and note its recommendations.