East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board |
|
|
Date: |
28 September 2023 |
|
Report by: |
Director of Public Health |
|
Title of Report: |
Annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report 2022/23 |
|
Purpose of Report: |
RECOMMENDATION
East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board is recommended to review and note this year’s annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report on social connections and multi-agency work to tackle loneliness in East Sussex.
1. Background
1.1 Attached at Appendix 1 is the 2022/23 annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report, titled ‘Connecting People and Places - Bringing communities together in East Sussex’, which focuses on social connections and multi-agency work to tackle loneliness.
1.2 This report highlights the importance of social connections and the impact loneliness can have on people’s health and wellbeing. The report also shares the findings and recommendations of the Connected People and Places project, a collaborative COVID-19 recovery project that sought to gain a better understanding of the nature and impact of loneliness on East Sussex residents.
1.3 The report was published on the East Sussex Joint Strategic Needs Assessment website in July 2023 (www.eastsussexjsna.org.uk) and has been disseminated widely.
2. Supporting information
2.1 In line with one of the report’s recommendations the public, private and Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise sectors are encouraged to work together to make progress on preventing and tackling loneliness through a stewardship approach. This approach helps to build trusting relationships, promote learning and enable people and organisations to work together meaningfully towards common goals. Work is underway to establish a two-year programme to develop the stewardship approach in East Sussex, with a support organisation to help facilitate multi-agency efforts due to be appointed shortly.
2.2 The Board should note that the 2022/23 report is the third and final of a planned series of annual DPH reports. These have been developed to highlight and increase our impact on health and wellbeing locally by focusing on the wider determinants of health. The 2019/20 Health and Housing report was the first in this series and the 2021/22 Work, Skills, and Healthreport was the second. The previous COVID-19 related report 2020: A Year of COVID-19 in East Sussex interrupted the previously planned series of reports. The 2023/24 report will cover creativity, the arts and health.
3. Conclusion and recommendations
3.1 The Board is recommended to review and note the annual Director of Public Health (DPH) report on social connections and multi-agency work to tackle loneliness in East Sussex.
DARRELL GALE
Director of Public Health
darrell.gale@eastsussex.gov.uk