Draft Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy Consultation
Brent Council wants to hear from you to understand if the Draft Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy meets your needs.
You can read the draft Strategy using the link below. An accessible easy to read version of the strategy is attached below in several documents. You can read the accessible version in the following order:
- Part 1 Introduction
- Part 2 How did we write our Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- Priority 1 Healthy Lives
- Priority 2 Healthy Places
- Priority 3 Staying Healthy Part 1
- Priority 3 Staying Healthy Part 2
- Priority 4 Healthy Ways of Working
- Priority 5 Understanding, listening and improving
If you would like to request a version in another language please email: corporatepolicy@brent.gov.uk
The aim of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is to improve the health and wellbeing of the people living in Brent. This includes helping people to stay healthy and making sure they can access services if they need them.
This strategy is for the young and the old, and every age in between. It is for people from different backgrounds, with different lifestyles, for the healthy and those with long-term health conditions and disabilities. We want to hear from you all.
We have split the strategy into five priorities. These are:
Healthy Lives: I am able to make the healthy choice and live in a healthy way, for myself and the people I care for.
Healthy Places: Near me there are safe, clean places where I, and people I care for, can go to relax, exercise for free, meet with like-minded people, and where we can grow our own food.
Staying Healthy: I, and the people I care for, understand how to keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy, managing our health conditions using self-care first. We have access to good medical care when we need it.
Healthy ways of working: The health, care and wellbeing workforce will be happy and strong; and the health and wellbeing system will recover quickly from the impacts of the pandemic.
Understanding, listening and improving: I, and those I care for, can have our say and contribute to the way services are run; Brent Health and Wellbeing Board data are good quality and give a good picture of health inequalities.
The Brent Health and Wellbeing Board has a statutory duty to produce a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JWHS) for our local population, as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
Phases
Consultation Phase 1
Consultation Phase 1
Healthwatch was commissioned to consult with our most vulnerable, seldom heard communities and those most impacted by health inequalities. Officers worked with Healthwatch to develop a survey and virtual roadshow approach, as well as data analysis mechanisms.
The Healthwatch consultation took place during February 2021, with an online and physical survey distributed to get target audiences and six virtual community roadshows held. Healthwatch targeted the consultation at the most vulnerable and seldom heard communities.
Key emerging findings from the roadshows are:
- There is a strong focus on wellbeing, with consultees considering the role of strategic partners to be one of supporting people by making self-care easy. There were a number of ideas around how this could happen, but the most frequently heard priorities were: o Improving access to reasonably priced fresh fruit and vegetables (not from a supermarket) o Decreasing unhealthy food availability e.g. reducing the number of fast food outlets on High Streets o Improving access to high quality green space, with desires for community gardens, more allotments and improving accessibility to green spaces
- Young people and the impacts of the pandemic upon them is a clear priority for many, with concerns about their mental health needs, now and into the future
- Active volunteers and community groups are well connected in their areas, but there is a job to do in how we engage to connect to those who need information, advice and guidance the most
There is a differential between how people describe their priorities for health and wellbeing and the language used in the health and wellbeing sector. For example, people did not describe tackling obesity as a priority, but they did describe wanting access to healthier foods, improved community facilities and green spaces to exercise in. This must be reflected in the development of the JHWS and our activity.
The survey responses are being compiled and analysed. Early emerging findings include:
- Responses identified barriers that people feel prevent them from effectivity accessing services and opportunities. These included time, financial resources, other responsibilities e.g. as a primary carer, digital exclusion and language (including technical language)
The Brent Health Matters Time to Talk event also provided a number of key insights:
- We need to rethink how we are seeking to connect with the community (particularly in relation to young people and older, frail people), and we need to allow the time and space for genuine co-production.
- There is clear feeling that people with disabilities have been profoundly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and this is a key group affected by health inequalities The themes identified at this event are currently being evaluated and insights will be shared with the strategy development working group.
There has also been input from key steering groups that is relevant in the development of the emerging priority areas, for example the need to ensure an effective focus on children, young people and families weaved throughout the whole strategy