Agenda item

The Board considered a report, and received a presentation, which provided an update on the work being undertaken to address health inequalities in Doncaster, supported by the Health Inequalities Working Group.  Included in the report at Appendix 1 was a copy of the report outlining the findings in respect of the BME Health Needs Assessment community engagement work undertaken by the Council’s Public Health team under the oversight of the Health Inequalities Working Group.  Appendix 2 to the report set out the Health Inequalities Action Plan.

Members noted that, with regard to chronic mental health disorders, females from BME communities were more likely to suffer from these conditions and also less likely to be referred into the relevant health services for treatment.  However, once they entered treatment, there were no apparent disparities and they were just as likely to benefit from the treatment as any other patients.  It was also noted that males from BME communities were less likely to have reliable recovery.  It was reported that some of these issues were already being addressed.

The Board was then informed of the community engagement work undertaken in relation to the BME Health Needs Assessment (HNA), together with the headline findings and resulting recommendations.  Moving forward, it was noted that an action plan would be developed in co-ordination with relevant partners, and it was also proposed to establish a BME Advisory Group, reporting via the Health Inequality Working Group.  In reply to a question regarding the proposed membership of the Advisory Group, Victor Joseph explained that this was yet to be confirmed, but that it was hoped that some of the members of this Board would be able to sit on the new Group.

During subsequent discussion, Members made a number of comments/observations including the following:-

• Councillor Nigel Ball referred to the apparent barriers to employment opportunities faced by people from BME groups and he was pleased to see that there was a recommendation in the HNA specifically aimed at addressing this concern.

• In discussing the terms of reference of the proposed BME Advisory Group, Damian Allen stressed the importance of striking the right balance in terms of ensuring the appropriate pace and direction for the Group.

• Steve Hackett invited the Officers to bring their presentation from today’s meeting to a future meeting of the operational management team at RDASH.

• The Chair congratulated the Officers concerned for their work to date in tackling health inequalities, and advised that the model being developed was already viewed as good practice on a national level.

After Dr Rupert Suckling had suggested that the Board receive a further update on this work in 6 months’ time, it was

                     RESOLVED to:-

(1)          Note and endorse the proposed approach to tackling health inequality and agree to receive regular updates on progress, the next update to be scheduled on the Board’s Forward Plan for 6 months’ time;

(2)          Note the approach to identifying, understanding and acting on unequal access and outcomes for BME citizens in respect of mental health;

(3)          Note the on-going work to developing and agree the recommendations arising out of the BME focus group work, as detailed in the appendix to the report; and

(4)          Agree to establish a BME advisory group reporting to the Health Inequality Work Group.