Agenda item

This paper updates the Health and Wellbeing Board on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessmentin LBHF. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is a statutory requirement, and it is the way the Council is required assess the current and future health needs of the local population.

7.1           Dr Nicola Lang set out details of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for the borough and thanked Duncan Smith, Head of Business Intelligence Unit for the support provided.  The JSNA was a statutory requirement produced every five years. The new JSNA will comprised of different analytical items including factsheets, needs assessments, data profiles, area profiles, demographic reports, performance monitoring, dashboards, and infographics. It detailed the strategic, local population health needs that would be met by services delivered jointly by H&F and the NHS.  The fact sheets contained statistical information on, for example, mental health, or children’s services. This will continue to be built, adding more information and will eventually be an accessible library of factsheets and a resource for reference or to support future funding applications.  Dr Lang invited further suggestions for areas that could be added, with a view to undertaking yearly updates by factsheet authors. 

7.2           Councillor Coleman commented that the JSNA factsheet library could be a purposeful and easily accessible online resource.  Dr Lang reported that she had already found it helpful to access a homelessness factsheet for a workshop she had attended on mental health in homeless hostels (Joint Strategic Needs Assessment | LBHF).

7.3           Councillor Helen Rowbottom suggested that having sight of an executive summary or similar that highlighted outlier data would be helpful in terms of identifying policy and health and wellbeing priorities. Indexed against business intelligence data from other boroughs this could also evidence patterns and areas for analysis that could align with the work of the children’s policy and accountability committee. 

7.4           Following a question from Councillor Natalia Perez about the use of more recent census data (2021), Dr Lang confirmed that the fact sheets referenced census 2021 data which informed trend patterns demonstrating comparative change or progress. 

ACTION: Slide deck on JSNA fact sheet to be circulated to Board members

7.5           Dr Lang illustrated the application of the JSNA with an example of the demography of childhood immunisation, which indicated lower uptake among some communities.  It was recognised that the borough and ward profiles were constantly evolving through regeneration and development and Dr Lang confirmed that this progression would be reflected in updated factsheets.  Dr Lang added that herself and Duncan Smith, together with public health colleagues were awaiting the full publication of the census data which was imminent. Joanna Howe, Business Intelligence Manager (H&F) would lead the analysis, which would include details of the new wards. 

7.6           Dr Lang continued that a year after coming into her post as director of public health, she had taken on the task of addressing the borough’s low childhood immunisation take up, the fourth lowest take up in London.  The factsheets offered a source of data which enhanced the rich information already obtained through focus groups and work with community groups.   This was automatically updated each month with data released on the child health immunisation system.  Councillor Rowbottom enquired about the January 2021 date for the immunisation data and why this was the most up to date information available.  Dr Lang confirmed that raw data could be uploaded to the JSNA library and that she had been in touch with NHS England to obtain current, routine childhood immunisation data going forward, as was regularly available in other boroughs.  The in-depth work that had been undertaken throughout 2021 had not yet resulted in any significant improvement but the news of the appearance of polio cases offered an opportunity to raise awareness.  A newsletter had just been circulated to parents, and the borough would be working closely with children’s services to encourage greater take up.

7.7           Councillor Rowbottom commented that there was a responsibility to utilise the most valuable, refined data as this offered an opportunity to address or identify priority issues.  It was suggested that there was an opportunity to work with local voluntary groups and charities, making business intelligence data more accessible to for example support funding bids.  A dashboard format could offer accountability on the impact of interventions and outcomes.  Referring to the report, Dr Lang explained how NHS England used business intelligence in a dashboard format for, e.g., a workforce data repository, and used for multiple applications.   Democratising accessibility to data in this way improved transparency, offered public equity and greater accountability.

7.8           Coleen Duffy reported that she was a member of the North West London Immunisation Board and confirmed that there was only one other borough of the eight NWL boroughs with lower childhood immunisation rates and confirmed that this was being reviewed by Healthwatch.  Low rates of immunisation in the borough had been a factor for about 15 years and there was a similar concern about lower levels of local flu vaccination take up.  Councillor Coleman agreed that was important to address the lack of trust in statutory services, particularly by building trust with Black and Asian ethnic minority communities and there was a shared responsibility to do so. Councillor Alexandra Sanderson supported a measured approach suggested by Jacqui McShannon to explore the difficulties of offering vaccines such as BCG and polio (in schools) anticipating a discussion at the Board. For information, Dr Lang referred members to The Green Book, UKHSA.

ACTION: That the Board explore the issue of childhood immunisations and vaccination for older children at a future Board meeting

RESOLVED

That the report was noted.