Agenda item

To discuss and consider a report on progress to date on Oldham’s Health Inequalities plan agreed by Health and Wellbeing Board June 2022.

Consideration was given to a report which provided information to the Board on progress to date on Oldham’s Health Inequalities plan agreed by Health and Wellbeing Board June 2022.

Oldham Life Expectancy for men is 77.2 years, compared to the national average of 79.4 years (PHOF 2018-20). By contrast, Westminster has an average life expectancy of 84.7years. The difference in life expectancy for men, between Alexandra ward (most deprived) and Saddleworth South ward (least deprived) is 12 years.

Oldham Life Expectancy for women is 80.5years compared to the national average of 83.1 years (PHOF 2018-20). By contrast, Kensington and Chelsea has an average life expectancy for women of 87.9 years The difference in life expectancy between Alexandra ward (most deprived) and Saddleworth South ward (least deprived) is 12.9 years.

The inequalities that we observe for life expectancy and for healthy life expectancy in Oldham are not just associated with deprivation but are also present between different ethnicities.

In November 2021, the Health and Wellbeing Board members discussed the development of a Health Inequalities plan for Oldham. This process took key recommendations from the GM Marmot Build Back Fairer and GM Independent Health Inequalities Commission report and mirrored broad six thematic areas

• Income, Poverty, Housing and Debt
• Housing, Transport and Environment
• Work and Unemployment
• Health in all Policies / Communities and Place
• Health and Wellbeing, and Health Services
• Children and young people

Each of the thematic areas was underpinned by a series of actions (a total of 57), and senior sponsor(s) assigned. The board agreed the plan in June 2022.

A tracker tool has been developed, detailing all the actions within the agreed Health Inequalities plan. Action owners have been invited to review and update the progress made towards each of the actions utilising commentary boxes and RAG ratings to provide a visual review of where programmes are on track, stalling or behind. Each of the sponsors has access to the tracker tool for oversight and review of their thematic area.

One of the thematic areas – ‘Health and Wellbeing and Health Services’ will undergo a review of the actions to align to the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) priorities outlined within the ICP 5-year strategy and to ensure that the actions are reflective of existing programmes contributing to the reduction of health inequalities. The wording of the actions will be agreed with action owners before being committed.

Of the 40 actions, within the remaining 5 themes, nearly half (19) are RAG rated as green, indicating that they are on track or have been completed. This indicates that broadly speaking the health inequalities plan is on track to deliver the actions within the agreed 2-year time period, completing May 2024.

Those that are amber, are usually so because of short term funding or staffing capacity issues. Amber can also indicate that services are in place as per action, but that demand is exceeding capacity for example healthy weight support from the commissioned service ‘Your Health Oldham’

The board is asked to note the addition of new sponsors for the theme ‘Housing, Transport and Environment’ Paul Clifford, Director of Economy, and Nasir Dad, Director of Environment. Both directors are well placed to oversee progress of work and have already held a forum bringing together all action owners within this theme to monitor progress.

During the period of September 2022 to March 2023, all six thematic areas had presented focused reviews to the Health and Wellbeing board. This allowed for the sharing of good practice across Oldham organisations, opportunity to accentuate programmes that reduce inequalities and as a system provide a safe place to discuss barriers to delivery.

The table below outlines some of the previously agreed actions or objectives, and a proposed amended version to better align to existing pieces of work or work that will maximise impact in reducing health inequalities.

Katrina Stevens, Director of Public Health, emphasised that the Health Equalities Plan is a 2 year plan and in terms of delivering the plan. Referring to the six thematic areas set out in paragraph 1.4 of the report, five of those themes were still in the process of being completed with 40 actions remaining. Half of the total number of actions identified at the beginning of the plan have been concluded with the remainder of those actions on track to be completed with 1 year of the Plan remaining.

Katrina Stevens informed the Board, that she concurred with the suggestion that the wording of the Plan needed to be tightened up to show how the actions are going to be delivered a report to the next meeting will be amended in this regard.

Resolved: That

(i)            the proposed amendments to the actions or objectives as outlined in section 2 of the report be agreed;

(ii)           to continue an approach whereby each of the six thematic areas brings a focused review or more detailed progress update to the board over the next 12 months; and

(iii)          the language in the Plan be tightened up to show how the actions are going to be delivered over the next 12 months.