Agenda and minutes

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary or other Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Section 4 paragraph 4.6 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed.

None were declared.

It was noted that the NHS England representative had not attended any meetings over an extended period.  The Chair agreed to contact the current NHS England representative to establish if he intended to attend future meetings. 

In relation to Minute No.5 – Sexual Health Services, Dr O’Donnell reported that he had contact his counterparts in Milton Keynes to discuss the approach partner organisations adopted to address sexual health challenges.  There was interest in undertaking a site visit.  Further consideration would be given to this following the discussions at the Development Day on 3^rd October 2019.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th July 2019 be approved as a correct record.

The Chair welcomed Dr Liz Brutus (Service Lead Public Health) and David Chong Ping (Local Government Research Director – M.E.L Research Ltd) to the meeting and invited them to introduce the report, which provided the Board with an update on the Public Health Beliefs and Physical Activity research project. 

The project had been embarked on to add value to the Joint Strategic Needs Assessmentand to provide a rounded picture of Slough residents’ health.  The Council’s Public Health and Leisure Teams had commissioned M.E.L Research Ltd to undertake a research project within Slough.  The project was an in-depth, community led research project to involve Slough residents in a local conversation regarding health, primarily with a focus on what residents believed they could do to keep physically and mentally well and prevent poor health. 

The aim of the project was to draw on understanding of residents’ health beliefs, level of health literacy and behavioural insights.  The project also explored the local population’s behaviours and attitudes, specifically, towards regularly taking part in physical activity and sport, to ascertain a true picture of prevailing inactivity.

David Chong Ping provided a presentation to the Board. 

During the presentation, the following issues were highlighted:

• Qualitative research had been undertaken, involving stakeholder workshops, ‘chattabouts’ and focus groups with residents.  The research had shown that residents had the knowledge and awareness to lead healthy and active lifestyles, but the opportunity and motivation needed to be focussed on.
• A face-to-face survey had been conducted with 1,605 residents representative of gender, age and ethnicity.  The survey reinforced many of the findings from the qualitative exploratory stage. In summary: residents had the capabilities to undertake healthy and active lifestyles; the opportunities to do so were limited by age, lifestyle and financial circumstances; motivation was also a key barrier to undertaking healthy and active lifestyles. 
• The use of planning and licensing controls could be used to introduce greater opportunities for healthy eating choices – working with local businesses to promote healthier options could be considered.
• The conclusions and recommendations of the project were: greater promotion of the Council’s leisure provision and the Active Slough programme was needed to raise awareness.  Highlighting a wider range of activities, such as brisk walking and gardening that could lead to healthier and active lifestyles would be beneficial.  Consideration was given to how financial incentives and promotions could support those residents most in need.
• Education around healthy eating and healthier choices could be introduced into schools.
• Raising awareness and dispelling the myths around sexual health and vaccinations required ongoing work by the Council and its partners.
• Good oral health was not consciously linked to leading a healthy lifestyle.
• There was a high reliance on GPs for information and advice.  Greater use of pharmacists and online channels may be useful mechanisms for supporting healthy and active lives.

The Board had a wide-ranging discussion, during which the following points were raised:

• The importance of promoting physical activity in the Council’s strategies, and encouraging partner organisations to incorporate activity throughout their plans and strategies.
• A need to involve young people through engagement with school councils’ and the Youth Parliament was highlighted.
• There was discussion relating to the idea of a ‘community contract’, similar to the ‘Wigan Deal’, which was an informal agreement between the council and residents that set out a series of pledges, and in return asked residents to commit to playing their part to improve the local area.
• The importance of viewing and promoting the idea of the community as an ‘asset’ was discussed.
• In relation to early years and children, there was discussion regarding the barriers to healthier lifestyles, and around ways to encourage parents to take up free early education places where made available.  It was agreed that the most effective way to overcome barriers was to promote community change by incorporating activity into people’s day-to-day routines.
• It was noted that some people viewed cycling and walking in particular areas of the Borough as unsafe and this was often a perception rather than being based on any evidence.  It was highlighted that regeneration strategies should promote healthy lifestyles.  The Board noted the example of the White City Health Champions, a group of volunteers who resided on White City Estate and through their local connections had influenced their communities to make positive steps to improve their health and wellbeing.
• Of the 1,605 residents to take part in the doorstep survey, 115 people had indicated they would be willing to take part in further work with researchers.
• The findings of the Slough Health Beliefs project would be reported in a ‘reader friendly’ format in a series of articles published in the Council’s Citizen newspaper. 
• The messages arising from the project would be communicated to Council staff and Members and embedded in the Council’s strategies.
• It was agreed that to trigger change a ‘whole system’, targeted approach would be most effective.

Dr Brutus reported that the presentation slides would be circulated and all Members would be invited to attend a briefing session presenting the findings of the Health Beliefs and Physical Activity Research project. 

On behalf of the Board, the Chair thanked David Chong Ping and Dr Brutus for the report and presentation.

Resolved – That the report and presentation be noted.

The Director of Adults and Communities introduced a report that updated the Board on progress in the development of the Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System (ICS) Long-Term Strategy.

Frimley Health and Care had first developed a five-year Strategy in 2016.  Since then, partners from across health and local government had been working together with local communities to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, and had been using collective resources more flexibly as part of a commitment to achieve the best possible value from every ‘Frimley pound’.

Considerable progress had been made in implementing the Strategy and Frimley Health and Care was considered as a leading ICS.  As a result, partners now wished to publish an updated five-year plan in 2019. 

It was the ICS’s intention that the Strategy : was developed through engagement with the workforce and local communities; reflected local needs, issues and priorities; was ambitious for the population and system; tackled the wider determinants of health and wellbeing and was rooted in evidence.

During July 2019, Frimley Health had invited partner organisations, community representatives and voluntary sector colleagues to attend an ‘Inspiration Station’ to review the insight and intelligence that had been gathered.  This included information about the population, funding, key areas of work and patient and public engagement feedback. 

Arising from the engagement, the following four themes had been identified: the need to be brave with ambitions; the need to focus on broader wellbeing and prevention; the need to focus on what Frimley Health wanted to achieve and how impact was measured; the need to continue on a journey of co-production.

Engagement across stakeholders, through events, forums and meetings would continue until November 2019.  Once the Strategy had been signed off, Frimley Health would host a series of events to target the local community, staff and stakeholders in order to gather feedback and engage further on priorities and how best to deliver the Strategy’s ambitions.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

The Chair reported that the Development Day would be held on Thursday 3^rd

October from 8.30 am to 12.30pm at Arbour Park, Slough.  The session would be led by Andy Caldwell, an external facilitator from CoCreate. 

The intention of the session was to make progress on following three priority areas:

·  Learn more about the role of an Integrated Care System and explore how the role of the Slough Wellbeing Board related to this.

·  To discuss the health needs of the local population, exploring the wider determinants of health.

·  Agree the specific health priorities for the Slough Wellbeing Board to focus on for the next three years, and discuss how this work would be done, and the ways of working required to support this.

A pre-reading information pack would be circulated to Board members ahead of the session.  The pack would provide an overview of health, and health inequalities in Slough in order to inform the Board’s priority setting.

Resolved – That the update be noted.

In view of the upcoming Development Day being held on 3^rd October 2019, the Board agreed to defer consideration of the Work Programme until the next meeting.

Resolved – That consideration of the Work Programme be deferred until the next meeting.

Resolved – That the Attendance Report be noted.

Resolved – That the date of the next meeting was confirmed as 13^th November 2019.