Agenda item

Doncaster Caring/cross cutting all themes

The Panel was presented with the 2019 Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JNSA) report which is an assessment of the health, wellbeing and social care needs of Doncaster and its communities.  The report highlighted areas of work delivered and those that were to be addressed over the forthcoming year, with the findings being reported within the annual State of the Health report.

It was noted that work undertaken had highlighted a number of issues within Doncaster, as follows:

·         The changing population;

·         Inequalities in childhood obesity;

·         Access to health services for people with learning disabilities;

·         The experiences of LGBT Year 10 pupils;  and

·         Changes in life expectancy.

During consideration the Panel held detailed discussion on the following areas:

Changing population – it was noted that the number of people living over the age of 85 was increasing due to older people being much healthier, and the figure would continue to rise for the foreseeable future, therefore there would be a continued increasing demand on services.

Migration – the Panel acknowledged that there was now an increase in the number of people moving into the Doncaster area from around England, with a return flow of young people aged 22 and 23.  There had been a reduction of people moving from abroad, with the Panel noting and nationally this had started to drop 3 years ago.

Childhood Obesity – it was noted that the Doncaster position was not significantly different to the national picture but was an issue that Team Doncaster and the NHS were addressing to improve individuals health and a healthy environment to live. 

The Panel highlighted the temptation of people regularly using corner shops and takeaways particularly when they were sited close to residential areas and schools and therefore of the opinion that it was a contributing factor towards the problems some people faced with obesity.  Concern was expressed particularly that children and young people were buying energy drinks and crisps for breakfast on the way to school. 

Members stressed the urgent need to look at this issue from a school perspective, particularly the environment around schools.  Members expressed the wish to learn if the levy on high sugar drinks had made an impact but recognised that it may be too early and that further data would be required.

It was noted that Team Doncaster was working on the issue of obesity

Active Travel – Members were pleased to see that there had been an increase in people taking an interest in cycling in Doncaster compared to England as a whole where this had fallen.

Mental Health – it was stressed that each child was entitled to go through school healthily without stress or worry but concern was expressed that young people within the LGBT grouping had significantly lower levels of happiness than other pupils.  The Doncaster pupil Lifestyle Survey revealed that in Doncaster there were higher levels of bullying within this grouping and young people found it more difficult of find people they felt confident to talk to.  Members stressed that this was disturbing and concerning, therefore sought assurances that this group was being supported and asked that data and supporting information, including any hotspots, be shared with schools.  It was suggested that if not being undertaken, schools be requested to address the issues as part of the school learning opportunities or curriculum.

Alcohol consumption – there was active intervention however it was noted that data measurements showed it was undertaken at the far end of the problem, for example, hospital admissions amongst the elderly or young people.   A Member reported that some young people were choosing not to drink due to an attitudinal change and wished for the awareness of this shift in behaviour to be shared amongst Council colleagues and partners.

Additional to this discussion the Panel raised the Information Sharing Agreement between Local Authorities and GP Practices that enables them to extract data from clinical systems, to assist with understanding of the local populations health.

To conclude, it was stated that “the environment we live in influences how you live.” 

RESOLVED that: 

a)        The Panel receive a report at a future meeting following further work relating to the environmental areas around schools and that the data be shared with partners to ultimately influence the department of health.

b)        The Executive investigate a possible information sharing agreement, similar to that established in other authorities in the region.

c)         The Executive request that the data and supporting information gathered through the JNSA be shared with schools, particularly in relation to LGBT bullying and childhood obesity.