Agenda item

Sir Steve Bullock (Mayor of Lewisham) and Dr Danny Ruta (Director of Public Health) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

·         The Lewisham Health and Wellbeing Board continue to monitor the original nine priority outcomes of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, but has agreed to provide greater strategic focus in three specific areas: to accelerate the integration of care; to shift the focus of action and resources towards prevention; building resilience in communities.

·         Work to accelerate the integration of care has included setting up Safe and Independent Living (SAIL) in Lewisham – a programme intended to improve access to a range of local support and advice services. It has also included establishing the community falls team in order to proactively identify people at risk of falls – there is evidence that this work could help achieve substantial savings.

·         As part of shifting the focus to prevention, the Council has launched the SUGAR SMART campaign, achieved UNICEF Baby Friendly Accreditation for health visitors, and continued to work with primary schools to implement the Daily Mile initiative. There are now 3,000 children running 12 minutes a day, and more schools will be starting soon. The Council’s restrictive planning policy on fast-food takeaways has also seen the number of fast-food takeaway applications fall.

·         In terms of supporting communities to build resilience, the Council has awarded a contract for a new borough-wide community nutrition and physical activity service to the Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency (GCDA). This includes activities such as cookery classes and food growing. The number of people using this service is increasing every month.

Sir Steve Bullock (Mayor of Lewisham) and Dr Danny Ruta (Director of Public Health) answered questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted:

·         It’s too early to measure the impact on breastfeeding rates of the UNICEF accreditation. But there is evidence that it can lead to a 15% increase. Breastfeeding rates in Lewisham are already relatively high for London.

·         While a reduced number of fast-food takeaway applications are going through, it is still a challenge to find healthy fast-food substitute businesses.

·         The Council is planning to pilot the Daily Mile initiative in secondary schools. There are already a few secondary school around the country taking part.

·         The Council is establishing neighbourhood forums (known as “Neighbourhood Community Development Partnerships”) so that local community and voluntary services can connect with each other more easily.

·         The Council are not able to say whether reductions to social care packages have led to an increase in falls. With the new falls co-ordinator in place, however, the council will now be able to start collecting the data properly and build a more comprehensive picture.

The Committee made a number of comments. The following key points were noted:

·         The Committee noted that some pupils who take part in the Daily Mile initiative are now encouraging their parents to walk more outside of school – making physical activity part of their daily routine. Some children are also gaining self-esteem from the consequent weight loss.

·         The Committee notes that organisation like community connections are finding it very hard to find services for younger adults with learning disabilities.

Resolved: the committee noted the report.