Agenda item

(1)  The outline of the Health of the Region 2023 report was noted.

(2)  The draft of the report that had been shared with members was reviewed, with comments and feedback provided.  

(3)  The launch of the final report and to promote its implementation through the role of Wellbeing Board members as local leaders was supported.

The board considered a report from the Head of Health and Communities who noted that the Health of the Region 2023 report was due to be published by the WMCA in January 2024 and that his team had been drafting the report and would present the emerging findings to the Wellbeing Board during the meeting.  

The report was supplemented by a presentation that was introduced  by the Head of Health & Communities and to note that the WMCA had a pivotal role to play in shaping the conditions that create unfair differences in health outcomes for the West Midlands region and provided an update on the key outcomes from the previous Health of the Region 2020 report where Covid-19 highlighted the extent of the region’s health inequalities, the WMCA fostered collaboration between partners in the region to address health inequalities and also established a Health of the Region roundtable.

The Senior Delivery Manager – Healthy Communities & Mental Wellbeing, Rachael Clifford, continued the presentation to note the key health issues and impacts for the region following the previous report iteration in 2020 and comparative data used.

The presentation noted that life expectancy in the region had decreased and was falling at a faster rate than the national average, which was further broken down in to the seven Constituent areas within the region that had the greatest impact dependant on where a person lived.  The causes of preventable diseases as a contributing factor for the WMCA area were noted as higher levels of being overweight and obesity in adults and children, the lowest levels of physical exercise in England, increased alcohol related deaths and adult smoking rates that had remained unchanged across the region, apart from Wolverhampton that had seen a significant reduction since 2014.  The presentation noted the causes of preventable diseases was further exacerbated by an increasing number of children living in poverty and that the WMCA area had some of the highest rates of fuel poverty in the country.

There had however since the previous report been some positive outcomes in that there had been a reduction in the number of 16-17 years not in employment education or training since 2018, that since 2013/14 there had been progress on reducing the gap between those with physical or mental long term health conditions and the overall employment rate, and that since 2013/14 there had  been improvements in self-reported wellbeing for the WMCA area.

The presentation further noted the WMCA’s role in improving health outcomes to shape the conditions that influence residents’ health outcomes across the region, through the WMCA’s devolved responsibilities and role as convenor, as advocate, as commissioner and in delivery across its core responsibilities and by leveraging investment in transport, housing, energy, environment, skills, employment and economy to support the existing collaborative approach and effort between NHS and local authority partners who had a statutory focus on clinical inequalities (Core20PLUS5) and the specific needs of their population (Health and Wellbeing Strategies).

The Senior Delivery Manager – Healthy Communities & Mental Wellbeing noted that the Health of the Region report was due for publication in January 2024 with a roundtable scheduled in March 2024 and to use the report to set the context of the health landscape and highlight some of the work that supported good health.  The report itself was still in draft form and the Head of Health & Communities encouraged and welcomed further comments from board members prior to finalisation.

The board discussed some of the current and imminent health issues across the West Midlands and noted in particular concern regarding smoking cessation, increase in opioid drugs and obesity rates in children.  The Head of Health & Communities acknowledged the health issues were very concerning; however, the responsibility of such health concerns was the responsibility of Integrated Care Boards and local authority public health teams and that the WMCA would continue to play a convening role to identify health issues facing the region, with a focus on influence, collaboration and seeking opportunities for delivering on health improvements through its devolved powers.

The Chair thanked attendees for their valuable contributions and requested for the Governance Services Officer to draft a letter to be sent to all Wellbeing Board members to be given a further week to provide feedback and comments to the Head of Health & Communities on the draft Health of the Region 2023 report, prior to the report being finalised.  The Head of Health & Communities further noted the next steps to publication of the report once further comments had been received from board members to note that the report would be submitted to the WMCA Executive Board on 10 January 2024 for approval to WMCA Board in February 2024, as well as to the WMCA’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee.  The Health of the Region 2023 report would then be presented in conjunction with the State of the Region report, which was very much focussed across the inclusive growth fundamentals in each of those areas.    

Resolved:

(1)  The outline of the Health of the Region 2023 report be noted.

(2)  The draft of the report that had been shared with members be reviewed, with comments and feedback provided.

(3)  The launch of the final report and to promote its implementation through the role of Wellbeing Board members as local leaders be supported.