Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to a report which outlined a proposal for how a Health Inequalities Plan would be produced for Oldham with key timelines and the role of the Health and Wellbeing Board in overseeing the work.

The Board was advised that a development session themed around heath inequalities had been held in September 2021 following a discussion by the Director of Public Health on the two reports which made a series of recommendations for reducing health inequalities across Greater Manchester. The first report was from the GM Independent Health Inequalities Commission, titled The Next Level: Good Lives for All in Greater Manchester. The second report was from Michael Marmot’s team at The Institute for Health Equity, titled Build Back Fairer in Greater Manchester: Health Equity and Dignified Lives.

The presentation and discussion highlighted the following:

·         Health inequalities had existed and had been known about for a number of years, however Covid had exacerbated them, resulting in worse health and social outcomes for those who were already most disadvantaged.

·         Oldham residents in particular were badly impacted by those inequalities given the low levels of income in the borough and the higher proportion of residents from minority ethnic groups.

·         Recent reports from the GM Independent Health Inequalities Commission and the Institute for Health Equity were an opportunity for action in the borough. A document had been circulated which summarised system wide initiatives which were aligned with the recommendations made by Michael Marmot’s team. This highlighted a number of areas where the Oldham system was very much fulfilling the recommendations, as well as gaps where more work was needed.

·         It was agreed that following the development session a plan would start to be developed for tackling health inequalities in Oldham, which would draw on the findings from those two reports.

The Board was advised that it had been proposed that a Health Inequalities Plan for Oldham would be developed by completing the following:

·         Establishing a time limited task and finish group to steer the development of the plan.

·         Producing an overview of evidence linked to health inequalities in Oldham, highlighting key areas of concerns. This would be drawn from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

·         Engaging with key system partners and residents to understand key issues. Summarise priorities raised linked to health inequalities from discussions.

·         Meet with relevant system partners to understand existing programmes of work and governance and how they interact with the health inequalities agenda; summarise which priorities identified are already being progressed (e.g. by the Equality Plan, Anti-Poverty Plan).

·         Develop a detailed action plan for the priorities which weren’t already being progressed by other workstreams. Named individuals assigned to each action with timelines.

·         Outline proposed governance to support implementation of the action plan above, emphasising the role of the Health and Wellbeing Board in driving delivery.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The process and timeline outlined in the report be agreed.

2.    The work be engaged with as appropriate as the plan is being developed.