Agenda item

12:50

The Director of Public Health will present his Annual Report for 2014/15 (JHO11).

The annual report summarises key issues associated with the Public Health of the County. It includes details of progress over the past year as well as information on future work.

It is an independent report for all organisations and individuals.

The report covers the following areas:

Chapter 1: The Demographic Challenge

Chapter 2: Health, Houses and Roads

Chapter 3: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage

Chapter 4: Mental Health

Chapter 5: Lifestyle and Health: We are what we eat, drink, smoke and do

Chapter 6: Fighting Killer Diseases

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to comment on the report before it is discussed at the Oxfordshire Health & Wellbeing Board on 16 July 2015 and at Cabinet on 21 July 2015; and to consider its recommendations in terms of shaping the HOSC forward work plan.

The Committee had before them the draft Director of Public Health’s Annual Report for 2014/15.

Following a full discussion it was AGREED to share the following comments with the Oxfordshire Health & Wellbeing Board on 16 July and to Cabinet on 21 July.

Members of the Committee felt that the report was very comprehensive, very readable and that it explained how services were to be delivered in each section, thus enabling scrutiny to be conducted effectively. Members expressed the hope that future reports would continue to be approached and written in a similar way. It was satisfied that major areas such as Mental Health and Child Poverty continued to be given a high prominence. The Committee, in particular, endorsed the following factors:

Chapter 1 – The Demographic Challenge

The Committee was keen to flag up that more detailed information was required on the plans to commission a countywide dementia support service (page 10 of the report) to help patients and families throughout the disease and to help plan and navigate a path through services to make care less disjointed.

The Committee strongly endorsed recommendation 4 (page 13 of the report):

‘OCCG, OCC, OUHT, OH and NHS England should develop, as a priority, their joint work to collaborate in transforming the local health system. This is in order to provide new models of care closer to home, care focused on prevention and early detection of disease, improved care for carers, prevention of hospital admission and speedy hospital discharge through improved community services, the modernisation of primary care and the funding of primary prevention services by the NHS.’

The transformation programme is of major interest to the Committee and will be the subject of scrutiny at its September meeting.

Chapter 2 – Health, Houses and Roads

The Committee also endorsed strongly recommendation 2 (page 21 of the report).

‘The NHS should become a consultee for local planning decisions and the CCG should be offered membership on key planning groups. Planning and health infrastructure should be considered when developer contributions are considered.’

HOSC has already highlighted a disconnection between local authority planning and Health when planning large housing developments. Scrutiny of this issue forms part of the Committee’s Forward Plan and it is hoped that there would be a full response to these issues from NHS England at the Committee’s September meeting.

In addition it endorsed recommendation 4 (page 22 of the report):

‘Cycling should be seriously encouraged in new road developments which are likely to attract high usage. Alternative cycle-only commuter routes using features such as rivers and canals should be considered.’

The Committee recognised the Government’s increased input into the provision of cycle paths and provision being made in the forthcoming Local Plan 4. It was their view however that local authorities should also be consulting with CCGs with regard to the provision of cycling routes for the purpose of improving the health of the local community, and advocated a policy to be put in place to ensure input into S. 106 contributions.