New report highlights health priorities for the county
30.07.2009
The annual report of the Director of Public Health, published today highlights how NHS Gloucestershire is planning its services to meet the health challenges facing the county, now and in the future.
The report focuses on the outcomes of the county’s first Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), and the launch of the eJSNA, a new online planning tool.
The JSNA, undertaken jointly by NHS Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire County Council, provides an overview of the health, social care and wellbeing needs of people in Gloucestershire, and sets out the services needed to meet these needs.
At the centre of the JSNA is the eJSNA, a web based database containing the latest available county and district level data on the local population - including statistics and comparisons on social demography, lifestyle, and core health indicators, such as life expectancy and morbidity.
Highlights of the report include:
- A county wide profile of health trends in Gloucestershire
- Examples of the health improvement work being carried out at the local level
- Six district reports focusing on the key issues for each district
- Four themed briefings on key priorities: ageing, children and young people, obesity and people with learning disabilities.
The report shows that while overall health in Gloucestershire is good and life expectancy is above the national average, there are variations in health between and within districts, and a strong association between ill health and deprivation.
Levels of smoking, obesity, alcohol-related hospital admissions and mental health problems are all higher in poorer neighbourhoods.
The report highlights the impact which healthy lifestyle choices such as stopping smoking, increasing physical activity and healthier eating would make to improve the health and wellbeing of all local residents.
Taking care of an aging population is also identified as a key challenge for the county, which has a larger population of people, aged over 65 compared to England as a whole.
The district level reports and ‘themed briefings’ showcase examples of the positive work already taking place to address the health needs of the county’s most vulnerable communities and groups.
Examples include:
- The roll out of the national NHS Health Check to all local residents aged between the ages of 40-74, which will assesses an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease, and provide lifestyle advice on reducing the risk
- Work to improve access to stop smoking services, notably the training of community pharmacists to provide advice, and the opening of a new Stop Smoking shop on Gloucester High Street
- The inclusion of actions to address the health and wellbeing needs of the county’s young people, as part of the Children and Young People’s Plan 09-12. Priorities include the extension of the Healthy Schools programme and, and initiatives aimed at increasing access to sexual health services, and reducing the impact of substance misuse
- The work of the NHS Gloucestershire Learning Disabilities Facilitation team to improve access to health services and health outcomes for people with learning disabilities, including tailored training sessions for health practitioners and easy read information for patients
- The development of comprehensive countywide action plans for dealing with strokes and dementia, to meet the needs of patients and carers; and a programme of community based education events around falls prevention and active aging.
Welcoming the report Dr Shona Arora, Director of Public Health said:
‘Overall there are a lot of positives to report. In health terms, life expectancy at birth is above the national average, and early death rates for major killers such as cancer and heart disease are lower’.
‘However, whilst most people in Gloucestershire experience good health, every year far too many people suffer avoidable ill health or die earlier than they should. Health inequalities are unacceptable – and we know that with the right actions, they can be prevented’.
‘The JSNA is at the heart of improving health outcomes for everyone. It gives NHS Gloucestershire and its partners, a powerful tool to ensure the services we commission are delivered where and when they are needed’.
Today’s report is only the start of the process. The JSNA will continue to build, as new data becomes available. NHS Gloucestershire will also be publishing update reports through the year reporting on different health priorities, and emerging trends.
