Agenda item

Report of the Director for Health and Wellbeing.

Directors of Public Health in England have a statutory duty to write an Annual Public Health Report (APHR) to consider the state of health within their communities. Camden’s 2023 APHR focuses on adolescent health and wellbeing.

Appendix A contains the full Annual Public Health Report (APHR) 2023.

Appendix B contains Step into our Shoes – the report Coproduced by young people’s group Camden Youth Tell Them in response to the APHR 2023 findings.

Appendix C contains a summary slide set prepared presentation to the Committee.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director for Health and Wellbeing.

Manuj Sharma, Public Health Consultant, summarised the Annual Public Health Report (APHR) and presentation slides which covered the following areas: key findings, young people’s voices, key statistics, co-production, graphic novel, Step into Our Shoes event launch, Event evaluation, Programme evaluation by Camden Youth: Tell Them, Next steps for APHR 2023, and Next steps for Camden Youth: Tell Them.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       A Member noted that the report stated the prevalence of asthma in white British children was higher than ethnic minority groups. The Member also noted that Camden had a lower prevalence of asthma than average comparisons pan-London and national. The Member asked if these trends were due to underreporting. In response, it was stated that in Camden there was a lot of work taking place in the asthma space and there were a few factors to consider such as greater awareness and early years engagement, however there may be an element of children not getting diagnosed. The Member noted that a number of political decisions that were good for asthmatic people and prevention were unpopular, such as ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zones), LTNs (Low Traffic Neighbourhoods) and parking fees.

·       A Member noted that poor mental health presented differently in different demographics, and a resulting trend of this saw a disproportionate number of ethnic minorities being admitted into psyche wards due to them experiencing barriers in seeking help early enough. Officers stated that initiatives to tackle outreach issues in the mental health space were co-production and ensuring messaging was amplified in the right spaces.

·       A co-opted Member stated that the report did not mention self-harm or suicide. In response, officers acknowledged that there were parts of the wide-ranging report that could have had more focus and detail. Officers confirmed there was a separate stream of work in the suicide prevention space which sat with the Health and Wellbeing Team. The Team could bring a report on adolescent suicide prevention, or any other specific area in greater detail, at request of the Committee.

·       A Co-opted Member stated that it was unclear who would be following up and who was accountable for the vast number of recommendations within the APHR. In response, it was confirmed that the work intended to produce recommendations for the whole system, because services responsible for the health and wellbeing of adolescents was cross-departmental and multiagency. It was confirmed that the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goal framework had not been used because there were a host of different actions that could be adopted and there should be flexibility in the system to address them.

·       It was confirmed by officers that the paper was aimed at a wider audience. The recommendations had been worked and were owned by departments across the Council and the report was an opportunity to open up the agenda for more collaborative work going forward. In response to a request from Committee Members, officers confirmed they would prepare a document which demonstrated the mapping of ownership of the actions in the APHR.

Action By – Director of Public Health

·       In response to a Co-opted Member’s query about how Camden was responding to young people feeling unsafe in Camden, it was confirmed that this work stream was discussed at the Youth Safety Steering Group and the Council also helped schools engage in the youth safety space. The Council ensured work was trauma informed and focussed on rehabilitation and education.

·       In response to a Co-opted Member request, officers confirmed they would provide more detailed data on adolescent self-harm, vaping, and smoking for the Committee.

Action By – Director of Public Health

RESOLVED –

THAT the Committee

a)    consider and note the content of the Annual Public Health Report and proposed dissemination plan; and

b)    consider and support the wider recommendations of the Annual Public Health Report 2023