Agenda item

Jonathan Gardener, Whittington NHS Trust was present and made a presentation to the Committee, copy interleaved

During consideration of the presentation the following main points were made –

·       There are significant differences in health outcomes for those who live in the most deprived areas. The top three diagnosed long term conditions in August 2021, excluding mental health are hypertension, asthma and diabetes

·       Whittington’s strategic objective is to play its role as an anchor institution to prevent ill-health, making every contact count, empower self-management and with the community, become a source of health advice, tackle inequalities

·       Population health is an approach that aims to reduce health inequalities across an entire population, promote health and well-being and improve physical and mental health outcomes

·       Noted that Islington has a much larger younger population when compared to London and national average. 24% of Islington population live in the most 20% of all deprived neighbourhoods, largely concentrated on the east of the borough

·       The COVID pandemic worsened existing health inequalities which are linked with deprivation, ethnicity and age. The highest rate of hospital admissions for COVID were other ethnic groups, followed by people from a black background. There have been more deaths from the east of the borough than centre or west

·       Overall life expectancy is increasing for all residents, however people in Islington live the last 20 years of their lives in poor health. There is a significant social gradient in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for both genders between the least and most deprived areas of the borough

·       There are barriers to accessing healthcare in deprived communities

·       There are four pillars of population health – wider determinants of health, health behaviours and lifestyles, an integrated health and care system and places and communities we live in and with. There are a range of social, economic and environmental factors which impact people’s health

·       Whittington is an anchor institution and areas of action include staff recruitment, pay and conditions etc., a procurer of services, local procurement and social value from procurement, best use of land and assets, new development, service delivery, corporate and civic responsibility

·       Noted Whittington has developed a strategy and action plan on these issues

·       Noted that admissions of children to hospital was high and it was stated that this could be for a number of reasons, and Whittington was involved with Bright Start, and it was intended to use Health visitors to make an impact in this area

·       In relation to the impact of poor air quality in the borough it was stated that this might be a contributory factor to the high incidence of COPD in the borough. Whittington had put in place measures to reduce emissions and had reduced these by 35% in the last few years

·       Noted that Whittington were developing a continuity of carer midwife team

RESOLVED:

That the Committee place on record their appreciation for the work undertaken by Whittington NHS Trust and staff for the work they carry out on behalf of residents of the borough, particularly during the pandemic

The Chair thanked Jonathan Gardener for attending