Agenda item

To update the Board on the Healthy Places theme of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Contact:  Lucy Wearmouth, Head of Improving Population Health

Lucy Wearmouth, Head of Improving Population Health, provided the Board with an update on the Healthy Places priority within the Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The Board was asked to consider, what would be the most useful way to receive these updates, for example, rather than tell the Board about everything in relation to Healthy Places, would it  be more useful to focus specifically on one topic area, in depth.

The Board was informed that the aim of the information being presented is to

-      Review Healthy Places Priority, which was last presented to the Board in June 2023

-      Demonstrate some examples of success and progress

-      Board to feedback on their own progress, within individual organisations

-      Plan for next steps and potentially more of a 'deep dive' focus

The Board was reminded of the ambition for the Healthy Places Priority which is that “The physical and social infrastructure and environment supports people of all ages who live, work or study in Kirklees to maximise their health opportunities and to make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

There are a number of success indicators related to this which includes:

-          Overall satisfaction with local area

-          Use of parks and greenspaces

There is also a number of ‘I’ statements, which during the consultation stage of the strategy, highlights what mattered to local people. In terms of context, Healthy Places is a large and complex priority and what is presented in the report represents a small amount of work from across the system and it would be useful to think about the theme and potential topics for deep dive.

Jo Hilton-Jones, on behalf of Stephy Rogers, Third Sector Leaders (TSL), informed the Board that TSL leads on the Community Champions Programme and have developed and supported the delivery of an excellent local programme. The model that is running now,  developed from the Covid Community Champions that ran for a time and then ceased, and was fortunate to receive Core 20 Plus 5 monies, that has enable two years funding to develop the Kirklees Programme.  Since then, there has been additional monies from the UK SPF programme in terms of levelling up, that has enabled the topics the Community Champions have been able to focus on

to be broadened.

It is important to highlight that this is very much being delivered through the VCSE. Kirklees Third Sector Leaders, are the organisation that co-ordinate the programme and the training. They ensure that all the processes, and that Champions have access to all the relevant information. Healthwatch Kirklees are a vital partner in this, analysing all the data that Community Champions collect, because when they have a meaningful contact with an individual, it is entered into a tablet and at the end of six weeks, it is analysed by Healthwatch.

The reports that are produced and the insights are already making a difference in terms of informing the local system because as well as Community Champions improving health literacy, they are letting people know what is available, informing people regarding conditions and enabling access and engagement to health care and wider offers. It is also about getting information from people in the communities that experience the greatest health inequalities to understand what are the barriers for them and why those health outcomes are worse.

There is an awareness about some of the information, however, the information from the Community Champions is challenging some of the preconceived notions and thoughts in many cases. For example, language barriers for some people in the community are much greater than was realised and is much more of a barrier. In terms of digital access, some might have a phone but not a smartphone or they do not know how to respond to an appointment that is an invite to secondary care.

There are 92 Community Champions working currently, age ranged between 18 and 65.  They are working through 15 community anchor organisations, covering 19 languages. In addition to the core community champion programme there is community conversations, targeted grassroots groups, where a particular topic is relevant to those groups are invited to apply for a small grant enabling them to do targeted work.

Community Champions are people from local communities who people can relate to and identify with. They understand people’s perspective and experience and are trusted. People are returning back to Community Champions either for the next topic because they found the first topic they engaged with valuable or for further information or signposting.

RESOLVED:

That the officers be thanked for providing an update on the Healthy Places Priority of the Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy.