This is a default template, your custom branding appears to be missing.
The custom branding should be at https://www.leicester.gov.uk/cabinet-pages-template/ if you cannot load this page please contact your IT.

Agenda item

Agenda item

LIFESTYLE SERVICES REVIEW

The Director of Public Health submits a report on the current range of lifestyle services commissioned or provided by Public Health in the City.  There is a national drive towards developing integrated lifestyle or wellness services and significant savings will also need to be made in the 2019/20 budget.  Members are asked to comment upon the questions asked in paragraph 3.3 of the report regarding the future direction of lifestyle services and prevention priorities.

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health submitted a report on the current range of lifestyle services commissioned or provided by Public Health in the City.  There was a national drive towards developing integrated lifestyle or wellness services and significant savings will also need to be made in the 2019/20 budget.  Members were asked to comment upon the questions asked in paragraph 3.3 of the report regarding the future direction of lifestyle services and prevention priorities.

 

The Deputy City Mayor stated that the report was part of the early stages of engagement with stakeholders about the future shape of public health services in the city.  The government had reduced the ring-fenced public health grant in recent years and the council therefore needed to review its public health services as it no longer had the resources to provide all the current services at existing levels.  However, the Council still had responsibilities to secure better outcomes for the population.  This provided a challenge to develop a model that provided better outcomes for residents in the city within the reduced resources available.  There would be a series of workshops to canvass views of stakeholders and users in reviewing the future provision of lifestyle services.

 

Part of the challenge was to give every child a healthy start in life and prevent them from developing bad habits which could affect their health in later life.  Views were being sought on whether the service should be generic or focused supporting a small number of people to change. For example, weight management services, although effective, only reached a relatively small proportion of overweight or obese people and at a time of austerity it was being questioned whether the responsibility for reducing and maintaining a healthy weight should be the responsibility of government or should individuals take responsibility for their own health.

 

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:-

 

a)         Given the current pressures on budgets it was important to promote joint working with NHS services and voluntary bodies to eliminate duplication of service provision and ensure resources throughout all health service providers were used effectively. 

 

b)         The use of outdoor gyms could be improved by having demonstrations of how to use the equipment.  This could be provided initially by a pilot project.  Some of the existing outdoor gyms did not have a natural footfall and consideration should be given to improving the use of these sites.  Consideration should also be given to replacing the existing signs with larger ones and some people found difficulties in .   

 

c)         Further integration of public health services with other council services was essential in the future given the current pressures on financial resources.  Promotion and consideration of health issues should be fundamental to all council services.

 

d)         Consideration should be given to charging for public health education services to schools (food for life programme) and care homes etc although it was recognised that schools with the greatest levels of need may not take this up.

 

e)         Mental health should be considered on par with physical health and there was little mention in the proposals for mental health initiatives.  A person’s mental health could impact upon levels of depression, being overweight, smoking and poor diet and it was therefore important to include mental health wellbeing in the overall strategy.

 

f)          It could be beneficial to provide free step counters etc as an incentive for people to take part in healthier lifestyles.

 

g)         Currently patients admitted to hospital could only have the use of nicotine patches by prescription and many patients relapsed when they left hospital.  It was felt that nicotine patches in hospital should be provided free in line with other forms of pain relief.

 

h)        Swimming pools and leisure centres should consider providing ‘quiet sessions’ for people suffering from conditions such as autism and dementia, where excessive noise can make them more anxious.

 

i)          Letters issued by the provider in relation to the Healthy Lifestyle Hub should include a reference to the patient’s local GP to avoid the impression that the patients are being canvassed for a private health care.  Currently it was felt that many patients treated the letters as junk mail and disregarded them.

 

j)          There should be references to ‘diet’ and not ‘obesity’ in lifestyle documents as this was felt to be more meaningful to everyone.

 

h)        Details of the workshops should be made available to Members and the Commission invited to attend.

 

In response to Members comments it was noted that:-

 

a)         Although the mental health budget was separate to the public health lifestyle budget, proposals were being developed which would integrate mental health services within the public lifestyle programme.

 

b)         Charging could be explored but introducing charges could reduce the level of engagement with the private sector and it could reduce the incentive for people to take part in the initiatives.

 

c)         The possibility of introducing a summer outdoor gym programme involving structured sessions would be considered.          

 

d)         The data and statistics listed in the report provided a headline overview.  These were supported by more detailed analysis which could be provided to Members if necessary.

 

e)         There would be a specific workshop for all councillors.   

 

 The Chair thanked the Deputy City Mayor and officers for the report and asked that details of the workshops being organised as part of the engagement on the review of Lifestyle services be made available to members.  

 

AGREED:-

That the report be received and that a further reports be submitted to the Commission in the future providing feedback on the workshops sessions and options for the future of the service at a later date. 

Supporting documents: