Agenda item

The Council considered the 2019 Director of Public Health Annual Report, which was presented by Dr Rupert Suckling.

It was reported that this was the fifth annual report authored by Dr Suckling, which included an assessment of whether or not health was improving in Doncaster.  The report identified that there was a slowdown in health improvement and also showed how averages masked inequalities between different groups of people in Doncaster.  The report demonstrated how the public health grant was committed locally, how those commissioned services performed, and how the public health grant and the action of the Public Health Team and partners, combined to address the most pressing local health issues.

Members were informed that the comparison of the performance of public health commissioned services was included for the first time and that the ranking of tobacco control was based on the high rates of smoking in the adult population (19.6%), and smoking during pregnancy (15.9%).  This national indicator did not include any data in the effectiveness of local specialist smoking cessation services.  The annual report did include a ‘Call to Action’ on tobacco control as tobacco was still the leading cause of preventable ill health and premature deaths in the Borough.  Despite high quality specialised smoking cessation services in Doncaster, as many people were starting to smoke each year as quitting, resulting in no overall reduction in smoking numbers.

Members noted that the best start in life indicator was made up of 2 process measures; the percentage of new birth visits within 14 days and the percentage of children receiving an ‘Ages and Stages’ assessment between 2 and 2 1/2 years old.  It also included an assessment of School readiness that was improving and an assessment of breast-feeding at 6-8 weeks, which was 30%.

It was also reported that whilst alcohol and drug treatment indicators were good in this report, there would be changes as to how these indicators were calculated in future years, and it was likely that performance would deteriorate, as both indicators would include an assessment of unmet need.

In conclusion, the report provided a summary of progress on the recommendations from the Director of Public Health’s previous reports and made the following three new recommendations for 2020:-

•      Doncaster partners should continue to embed a population health approach focussed on four related activities addressing:-

The wider determinants of health

Our health behaviours

The places and communities we live in and with

Integrating health and care services into an integrated health and care system

•      Doncaster Council should consider an LGA Prevention Peer Review; and

•      Doncaster Council Public Heath function should continue to take a sector led improvement approach to quality improvement

Following Members of the Council being afforded the opportunity to comment on the report, Councillor Rachel Hodson referred to the ‘Walking to School Initiative’ and childhood obesity, and from the perspective of the ‘Clean Air Initiative’, she enquired how the Council was going to measure and make sure they were replicated further, to allow others to benefit, and what could Public Health do to make sure that the air our children were breathing was clean, and what was Public Health doing to influence the SYPTE, Private Bus Companies and the Environment Commission.  In response, the Director of Public Heath undertook to provide Councillor Hodson with a written response.

RESOLVED that Council note and publish the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report for 2019.