Agenda item

The Principal Public Health Intelligence Analyst will update the board on the Leicester Health and Wellbeing Survey 2024, conducted by DJS Research on behalf of Leicester City Council. The update will provide a snapshot of health and wellbeing for residents aged 16 and over.

The Principal Public Health Intelligence Analyst presented the report, which showed the results of the most recent Health and Wellbeing Survey. It was noted that:

·       The data was to be explored further but had already been made use of.

·       The survey interviewed those aged 16+. Child specific ones had previously been completed.

·       The primary purpose of the survey was to inform strategic decision making and specific needs assessments.

·       The survey is used by outside partners and contributes to a wide variety of work, including Public Health campaigns.

·       The survey provided levels of intelligence not everyone was able to access.

·       2100 interviews had been completed, which reflected around 100 people per ward. This was a weighted sample to reflect population data in the census to ensure it was representative.

·       Sensitive questions were self-completed to encourage reliability.

·       The team reflected the diversity found in the city allowing for different languages.

·       A huge range of topics were covered, including new areas such as gambling, covid implications, mental health and wellbeing, food insecurity and some around vaping.

·       The top 5 positives identified by residents were:

o   4 in 5 residents rated their general health as good or very good.

o   There was a decline of 4% in those who smoked cigarettes compared to 2018.

o   3 in 4 residents had used waterways, parks and green spaces at least once per month.

o   Most residents felt they had support they could rely on in difficult times.

o   4 in 5 residents said they tended to bounce back quickly after difficult times.

·       The top 5 challenges identified were:

o   Nearly a quarter of residents had faced difficulties paying their food and energy bills, this was double the figure of 2018.

o   Challenges were faced by residents accessing medical services, particularly NHS dentists or GP appointments.

o   1 in 14 residents with children at home say they smoked in the home.

o   1 in 7 residents consumed alcohol to a level that was classified as ‘increasing risk’ or higher.

o   1 in 20 households had reported damp or mould in their home.

·       Long term conditions affected an individual’s ability to ‘bounce back’ after hard times.

·       5 or 6% of residents had often felt lonely. This seemed like a small figure but 5% is 16,000 individuals.

·       There were new questions on cultural aspects and sporting included. These showed that 25% of residents were using the libraries once a month. But half of the population had never attended a sporting event. This could be broken down further by economics and gender.

·       Questions were asked on financial difficulties. These showed that 16% had difficulty paying council tax, 15% couldn’t afford to go on holiday and 10% had difficulty affording food which was a significant increase. The difficulties affording food seen in the data can be broken down by gender, socio economic group and ethnicity.

·       The key issue found regarding people’s homes was tenure breakdown. When the homeowner occupied their property, the focus was on the cost of heating and the mortgage. For those in private rentals, it was that rent was too expensive. For those with a social landlord, the issue was the size of the property, mould and damp issues or the need for repairs.

·       The data can be mapped by ward, for example it was seen that the lowest rates of difficulty paying energy bills were in Knighton and the highest rates were in Beaumont Leys.

·       Data from the Health and Wellbeing Survey was to inform JSNA’s, Health and Wellbeing strategies, local health profiles, health equity audits, equality impact assessments, funding applications along with being used in presentations and promotional materials in Public Health campaigns. It also provided insights for partners in academia and the VCS, as well as supporting press and media briefings and academic papers.

In response to questions and comments from members, it was noted that:

·       The VCS offered their support in sharing information about the survey or facilitating Public Health building relationships with the sector to share the data.

·       It was considered that this data could give funding applications an edge.

·       Concerns were raised on access to GP’s. It was queried whether the issue was an unavailability of GP’s or whether alternative health professionals were being offered to patients. Alternative health care professionals being utilised in the GP practises and how to improve the public’s understanding of this change in process was raised. Often patients had not necessarily needed to see a GP and alternative professionals had been more suitable. 

·       The Director of Public Health agreed that promotion of other services was needed but highlighted that the level of GPs per population was the second lowest in the country. More GPs were needed, and this had to be acknowledged. It was suggested a report should come back to the Board on the number of GPs in the city.

·       The Integrated Neighbourhood Board and Programme needed to utilise this data to see where the need was to allow the limited resources available to be prioritised according to the evidence.

·       The picture of social isolation given by the data was particularly worrying, as well as the impact of long-term conditions.

·       There were large pieces of ongoing work which would benefit from a whole systems approach which is all encompassing, rather than purely being based on health.

·       The Chair highlighted that many of the things impacting upon residents' quality of life were within the remit of the Council and emphasised the importance of joined up thinking. The financial situations faced are similar across various organisations further compounding the requirement to be joined up in approaches. 

Agreed:

1. The report was noted.
2. Neighbourhood programme to be added to the work programme for later in the year.
3. GP rate to be added to the work programme.