Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Janine Jenkinson  01753 875018

Items
No. Item

20.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

The Chair reported that she was no longer a governor of the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.

21.

Minutes of the last meeting held on 25th September 2019 pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Minutes:

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 25th September 2019 be approved as a correct record.

22.

Developing the Future Priorities of the Slough Wellbeing Board pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report that set out the proposed future priorities of the Slough Wellbeing Board.

A development session was held on 3rd October 2019 for members of the Board.  An external facilitator had been engaged to co-ordinate the session and assist with the development of the Board’s future priority areas of work.  During the session, information regarding the Council’s strategic partnerships, the role of Frimley Integrated Care System and data relating to the Borough’s health inequalities and wider determinants of health were discussed.  Part of the development process involved recognising the areas the Board could ‘lead on’ and the areas the Board could ‘influence’.  Resulting from the session, the four priorities were proposed as: workplace health, integration, starting well and community resilience.

A discussion ensued, during which the following points were raised:

  • The absence of a business representative on the Board was noted.  The importance of partnership working to ensure economic development, housing and environmental issues were highlighted. 
  • In relation to building community resilience – the role of community and voluntary groups was discussed.  In particular, the importance of peer-to-peer support.
  • It was recognised that in a number of areas such as deprivation, poverty and housing, the Board would have to engage in partnership working to exert its role as an ‘influencer’. 
  • The role of education, skills and up-skilling residents to enable people to gain decent paying employment was discussed.  Whilst it was recognised that the Board was unable to deliver in these areas, working in partnership the Board could influence employers to offer training and to pay the living wage.
  • It was agreed that the areas the Board could deliver and those it could influence should be clearly set out in the revised Slough Wellbeing Strategy.
  • There was discussion about indirect solutions to complex issues, such as housing.  It was explained that household overcrowding often prevented young people from having the space and opportunity to study at home.  The use of libraries and hub spaces as study spaces provided a solution to one of the detrimental impacts of inadequate housing provision.

 

Following the discussion, it was agreed that the Director of Adults and Communities, Service Lead Public Health, Chief Executive Officer, Slough CVS, along with support from the Service Lead, Strategy and Performance and Policy Insight Analyst would continue work to establish the areas the Board would lead on and those areas it could influence. 

In addition, it was agreed that a five, rather than three year Strategy would allow the Board the time to deliver its priorities.  A draft version of the Slough Wellbeing Board Strategy would be presented at the meeting on 23rd January 2020 for further discussion.

Resolved –

(a)  That the following key areas for the Slough Wellbeing Board to prioritise its work over the next five years be agreed as: workplace health, integration, starting well and community resilience.

 

(b)  That the draft Slough Wellbeing Board Strategy be presented at the meeting on 23rd January 2020.

23.

Annual Director of Public Health Report (2019) Berkshire - A Good Place to Work pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Strategic Director of Public Health for Berkshire introduced the report that summarised the Annual Director of Public Health Report (ADPHR) 2019: Berkshire – A Good Place to Work, which focussed on workplace health and wellbeing.

Every year the Strategic Director of Public Health had a statutory responsibility to produce an ADPHR.  The report aimed to inform residents of health issues in their community, inspire action and guide decision makers’ priorities, and ultimately reduce local health inequalities.  This year’s report focussed on work and health.  The topic had been selected due to the strong relationship between work, health and the opportunity in workplaces to take action to improve health and wellbeing.

Evidence showed that ‘good work’ improved health and wellbeing, by connecting people, providing a stable income, social interaction and a sense of identity and purpose.  Unemployment was associated with an increased risk of poorer health, including limiting long-term illness, heart disease, poor mental health and health harming behaviour.

The relationship between work and health was symbiotic: good work was good for people’s health, and people in the best health were more productive and good for business.  The benefit of improving workplace health extended beyond the individual worker.  For an employer, a healthy resilient workforce took fewer sick absences, had better productivity and longer careers before retiring.  From an economic and wider societal view, an unhealthy workforce could lead to increased healthcare costs, increased informal caregiving, increased long-term sickness and a loss in productivity.

The key messages of the report were:

  • The work place was an ideal venue for improving health.  Workplace health was a win:win for population health, employees and employers.
  • Berkshire had relatively high levels of employment; the top industries were professional, scientific and technical, information and communication.  Berkshire had a higher proportion of people in managerial and professional positions than the average in the England.
  • Two major employers in Berkshire were the NHS and local authorities.
  • There was evidence that improving the health of the workforce assisted productivity.  Work places were changing and there was a need to adapt approaches to meet the needs of flexible employees and freelancers.
  • Evidence showed that engaged and committed organisational leadership, working closely with employees was critical for success. 
  • Robust Human Resources (HR) policies were the bedrock of workplace health and wellbeing.
  • Access to good work was easier for some – employment rates varied depending on gender, ethnicity, and disability.
  • Evidence showed that people in Slough had significantly more years of life in poor health than the national average.

 

Following the conclusion of the presentation, the Chair invited Board members to comment and ask questions.

 

During the course of a wide-ranging discussion, the following points were raised:

 

  • Females in Slough had more years in poor health than males.  There was some discussion about why this was the case, including the uptake of habits such as drinking and smoking in younger years.
  • It was queried if any studies had been undertaken to show the cost to the NHS of social care resulting from preventable poor health issues.  It was suggested that there would be a ‘shock value’ in sharing information about preventative health measures and the positive impact these can have on the number of years a person spent in good health.
  • It was noted that good health was not solely the responsibility of the individual, but rather a number of external factors, including deprivation, influenced a persons overall health. 
  • Sickness absence rates were increasing and presenteeism had increased by three times since 2010.  It was noted that presenteeism was often not given due consideration during the development of HR policies.
  • The nature of work was changing, increasingly people were working flexibly and one in ten people in the UK worked in the ‘gig economy’.
  • The challenge for small businesses to keep pace with the changing nature of the work environment was noted.  It was reported that the Council’s Public Health Team would be considering how work based health initiates could be implemented in small businesses. 
  • It was noted that in ‘anchor institutions’ such as the NHS and local authorities, employees could be influenced by requiring them to undertake mandatory training.  However, often it was motivation rather than a lack of information that was a barrier to people taking up healthy lifestyles.

 

Resolved –

 

(a)  That the report be noted.

 

(b)  That the workplace health and wellbeing recommendations set out in the ADPHR be included in the Slough Wellbeing Board Strategy.

(Cate Duffy left the meeting)

24.

Forward Work Programme pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Minutes:

In view of the refresh of the Board’s priorities, it was agreed to delete the ‘unprogrammed items’ currently listed on the Forward Plan, with the exception of ‘refresh of JSNA’, which the Board was required to undertake.

 

It was agreed that it would be beneficial to schedule two items for discussion at each meeting, to allow Board members sufficient opportunity to consider each report in detail.

 

Resolved –

 

(a)  That the Slough Wellbeing Board Strategy be presented at the meeting on 23rd January 2020.

 

(b)  That the number of items for discussion at each meeting be limited to two, in order to allow the Board sufficient opportunity to consider each report in detail.

 

(c)  That, with the exception of ‘refresh of JSNA’ all the ‘unprogrammed items’ currently listed on the Forward Plan be deleted.

25.

Better Care Fund Plan 2019-20 pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report that presented the Slough Better Care Fund Plan 2019-20.

 

Resolved - That the content of the Slough Better Care Fund Plan 2019-20 be noted.

26.

Update on Immunisations and the Slough Local Action pdf icon PDF 94 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report that provided an update regarding immunisation uptake work taking place in Slough, including the work of the Slough Immunisation Partnership set out in the Slough Local Action Plan 2019-2021.

 

Resolved -

 

(a)  That the current work happening across the system for immunisation, including the work of the Slough Immunisation Partnership be noted.

 

(b)  That the Board reviewed and was satisfied the current draft of the Local Action Plan for Immunisations had actions tailored to the needs of Slough and relevant partners were addressing the relatively lower uptake and health inequalities in immunisations.

27.

Attendance Report pdf icon PDF 44 KB

Minutes:

Resolved - That the Attendance Report be noted.

28.

Date of Next Meeting - 23rd January 2020

Minutes:

Resolved - That the date of the next meeting was confirmed as 23rd January 2020.