Report to:

East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board

Date of meeting:

19th July 2022

By:

Director of Public Health

Title:

Annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report on Work, Skills, and Health

Purpose:

To share this year’s DPH report on Work, Skills, and Health ahead of wider dissemination and an update on previous and future DPH reports.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Board is recommended to review and note this year’s annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report on Work, Skills, and Health

1.            Background

1.1          Attached as Appendix 1 is this year’s annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report on Work, Skills, and Health.

1.2          This report highlights the relationship between work, skills, and health in East Sussex. It includes local data, details about how employers can support the health and wellbeing of their employees and recommendations to address health inequalities associated with employment.

1.3          This report will be disseminated widely and published on the Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment website at JSNA - Annual Public Health Reports (eastsussexjsna.org.uk)

 

2.            Supporting information

 

2.1          In line with one of the report’s recommendations, all public sector organisations and private businesses should be encouraged to sign up to work towards a Wellbeing at Work East Sussex award. It is proposed that the Council participates in the East Sussex Wellbeing at Work programme and actively work towards an accreditation. Noting that the Council already has numerous employee wellbeing activities that would contribute to achieving an award.

 

2.2          The Board should note that the 2021-22 Work, Skills, and Health report is the second of a planned series of annual DPH reports. These have been developed to highlight and increase our impact on health and well-being locally by focusing on the wider determinants of health. The 2019-20 Health and Housing report was the first in this series. The third and final report in 2022-23 within this series will focus on social connections and include the multi-agency work on loneliness. The 2024 report will cover creativity, the arts and health.

 

2.3          The previous COVID-19 related report 2020: A Year of COVID-19 in East Sussex, which interrupted our planned series of reports has also recently been noted as one of seven ‘highlighted reports’ at an Association of Directors of Public Health event. The special mention was under the category of analysis notably the inclusion of data and graphs on movement trends within the county and districts and boroughs.

 

3.            Conclusion and Recommendations

 

3.1          The Board is recommended to review and note this year’s annual DPH report on Work, Skills, and Health, ahead of wider dissemination.

 

DARRELL GALE

Director of Public Health

Darrell.Gale@eastsussex.gov.uk