The Board received and reflected upon the findings of Annual Public Health and considered the implications of the findings for priorities of the health and care systems and wider partnerships.  The main points of the consideration of this report is outlines as follows.

The Board

v  Noted that the foundations of wellbeing are feeling safe, having a sense of control over one’s life and feeling connected. The Covid-19 pandemic impacted profoundly on our sense of wellbeing. We were faced with an invisible health threat, Covid-19 rules limited the daily routines of our lives and kept us separated from our loved ones and everyday connection.

v  Noted that the cost-of-living crisis we now face creates further threats to health and wellbeing of Tower Hamlets residents. As we emerge out of the pandemic, the impacts that it has had on the health and wellbeing of people in Tower Hamlets are becoming clearer. Over and above the impacts of Covid itself, there is the legacy of the adverse impacts on mental and physical wellbeing.

v  Noted that the purpose of this report is to provide a high-level overview of the state of health and wellbeing in the borough and to enable the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board to use this evidence to help shape its priorities. In addition, as mentioned the primacy of Covid-19 messaging since March 2020 has meant that the core public health messages for residents to help support their health and wellbeing had taken a back seat. This report takes the opportunity to restate these messages but as referred to earlier in the recognition that if Covid-19 has taught us anything it is that the way that these messages are communicated needs to be by developed and shaped with the communities of Tower Hamlets.

v  Noted that the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Strategy is founded on the principle that the opportunity to enjoy the best possible health is a human right. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clearer than ever that this is not a right that is enjoyed equally by everyone.

v  Agreed that covid-19 hit our most deprived communities in Tower Hamlets the hardest and this reflects longstanding health inequalities in the Borough, and stakeholders need to continue to use all their resources to address this injustice.

v  Agreed that the use of the cultural appropriate means of communication and engagement will ensure health messages do not unwittingly disadvantage target communities as the checklist mandates for messages to be co-designed by collaborating with communities and resources focused on addressing those who are most in need. This ensures communities are treated equally, respectfully and without discrimination whilst providing assurance that health and wellbeing information and advice are clear, simple, and produced with those who will benefit from them.

v  Agreed that it is key that communication is clear, simple and co-designed towards ensuring that communities feel connected and included in the design, delivery, and engagement with health messages.

v  Agreed it was essential to ensure power differentials between council officers and communities are redressed through ensuring messages are informed by community lived realities.

v  Agreed that it was important the use of community assets in the form of leaders and settings to inform message content and delivery that will further build trust and fosters partnership working.

v  Noted that the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is grounded upon a number of principles that matter most to residents of Tower Hamlets: (i) resources to support health and wellbeing should go to those who most need it; (ii) feeling connected and included is a foundation of wellbeing and the importance of this should be built into services and programme; (iii) being treated equally, respectfully and without discrimination should be the norm when using services; (iv) health and wellbeing information and advice should be clear, simple, and produced with those who will benefit from them; (v) people should feel that they have equal power in shaping and designing services and programme that impact on their health and wellbeing; and (vi) stakeholders should all be working together to make the best use of the assets that they already have that supports people’s health and wellbeing.

v  Noted the importance to have sufficient services to meet the demand for evidence-based community-based drug treatment. Further, the effectiveness of available services varies as much as the diversity of their treatment regimens. Capacity-building can help increase the scale and improve the quality of those interventions.

v  Noted that maximising the impact of capacity-building requires a comprehensive and systematic approach and it starts with assessment and planning.

v  Agreed that using an empowerment model for capacity-building can increase the stakeholders and resources engaged in the process.

v  Agreed better engagement with community stakeholders increases the likelihood that capacity-building outcomes will be sustainable and based on community lived realities.

v  Agreed on the importance of having the resources (sufficient staff, with appropriate competences and the time) to conduct ongoing, specific, and strategic reviews as specified.

v  Agreed on the need to monitor a range of recovery outcomes to understand and demonstrate the benefits being derived from treatment.

v  Agreed on the importance of having access to a diverse range of interventions, intensities, and settings (including residential) to optimise treatment and care.

v  Agreed that people with a learning disability often have poorer physical and mental health than other people and an annual health check can improve people’s health by spotting problems earlier. Therefore, it is important to (i) canvass key stakeholders’ views on how to improve access to primary care in general practice settings for people with learning disabilities; and (ii) improve the basic monitoring of disability in secondary care systems, primary care, adult social care.

v  Agreed that concerted, systematic and sustained action is therefore needed to address the multiple and overlapping factors that drive health inequalities – from differences in experiences and quality of healthcare through to the wider determinants of health. This should include, but go beyond, the health and care system. It therefore will require working in partnership across services, sectors, and communities across the Borough.