To receive a verbal update from the Interim Director of Public Health.

The Interim Director of Public Health updated the Board on progress that had been made towards the Board’s priorities. Smoking rates had reduced from 19% to 12.5% across the Trafford population. There was still concern about the rates among routine and manual workers where the smoking rates were 28%. This was to be tackled both by tackling the acceptability of smoking within this group, and also by ensuring that this population had good access to support to stop smoking . People who suffer from mental health issues also had much higher rate of smoking and would also be a focus for improvement.

The rate of adults drinking above the recommended daily allowance was 28% which had seen little improvement. The Board were told that the main issue when battling against alcohol abuse was availability which made it difficult to challenge at a local level. It was hoped that a national increase in the price of alcohol by the unit could be achieved through lobbying, and that this would  reduce the consumption of alcohol, especially by heavy drinkers. On physical activity,  the Interim Director of Public Health informed the Board that teenagers in Trafford were highly inactive and that ways to encourage them to be more active needed to be found. The Head of Partnerships and Communities added that the latest figures from the schools daily mile initiative showed Trafford to be way ahead of the national average, although few schools did undertake this on a daily basis.

Following the update a number of questions were asked about the robustness of data used and the level of smoking amongst those suffering from Mental Health Issues. The Interim Director of Public Health responded that the data used was the most up-to-date data available. The smoking sub group were conducting a piece of work to drill down further into the data held to provide a deeper analysis for the Board using GP records to cross check information.

With regards to the issues faced by people suffering from mental health problems both the Public Health Team and Trafford CCG were aware of the poor health outcomes of this group. A Trafford Consultant in Public Health and the Lead Commissioner Mental Health and Learning Disability for Trafford CCG were working with Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust on improving these outcomes, and on ensuring that people with mental health issues were supported to improve their physical health.

The Chairman of the Trafford CCG Public Reference and Advisory Panel (PRAP) asked how the proposed changes were to be made and specifically how the mind-sets’ of the highest risk groups were to be challenged. The Interim Director of Public Health informed the Board that Trafford were going to hire staff trained in behaviour change. These new positions would be targeted at the populations where the largest impact could be made. In addition to this there was to be a digital support offer for those who prefer to access services online with the overall aim to create a holistic approach to stop smoking services across Trafford.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the update be noted.

2)    That the Tobacco Steering Group are to drill down in to available data using GP records