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Report to: |
Cabinet
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Date of meeting:
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13 November 2024 |
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By: |
Director of Adult Social Care and Health
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Title: |
People Scrutiny Committee Review of Healthy Ageing – Observations on the Scrutiny Committee’s report
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Purpose: |
To provide the Cabinet with the opportunity to comment on the response of the Director of Adult Social Care and Health to the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Healthy Ageing |
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Cabinet is recommended to:
1. Note and welcome the report of the People Scrutiny Committee; and
2. Advise the County Council that, in considering the report of the Scrutiny Committee, the Council be recommended to welcome the report and to agree the response of the Director of Adult Social Care and Health to the recommendations and their implementation as set out in the action plan attached as appendix 1 to this report.
1. Background
1.1 In March 2024 the People Scrutiny Committee agreed to establish a Review Board to undertake a Scrutiny Review of Healthy Ageing work in Public Health, Adult Social Care and Health.
1.2 The Scoping Board agreed to focus on the following areas of Healthy Ageing:
· Supporting people to age well through physical activity; and
· How more positive attitudes towards ageing can help people to age well
1.3 The Board also agreed that a key component of the Review should be to recognise, celebrate and maximise the value, contributions and opportunities of an ageing population in East Sussex.
2. Supporting information
2.1 The Scrutiny Review of Healthy Ageing is welcomed by the Department. Public Health will support the Department in responding to the recommendations and implementing the proposed action plan.
2.2 The Board recognised that the scope of the review was not able to focus on all aspects of healthy ageing, but the key lines of enquiry selected were important areas of development that could support healthy ageing in East Sussex.
2.3 The Review acknowledged the value of existing collaborative working with stakeholders across the East Sussex health and care system to support healthy ageing, and the potential of continuing to strengthen these partnerships.
2.4 Partnership working is vital to supporting our residents to age well and make best use of finite resources across the system. We are progressing work to establish the new Healthy Ageing Partnership Group to help take this forward. The learning from this review will be shared to help shape new priorities for this new group.
2.5 The feedback received and the positive response to the work both planned and underway was welcomed. Officers involved in the review process found this to be an interesting, insightful and positive experience and would like to thank the Review Board members for their input, engagement and enthusiasm.
2.6 The Adult Social Care and Health response to the Review Board’s recommendations is set out in the action plan attached at Appendix 1.
3. Conclusion and reasons for recommendations
3.1 The Scrutiny Review has highlighted a range of recommendations, many of which recognise the work already underway and the need to continue to build on that.
3.2 The recommendations support the good partnership work already underway, and the learning from this Review will help enhance some of this work. For example, in continuing to strengthen our place based physical activity partnerships and opportunities to support adults to be active into older age and working with Active Sussex to embed physical activity across ASCH pathways.
3.3 The Review Board recommendations acknowledge the key role of the Council as an anchor institution to lead by example and adopt and utilise age friendly approaches in our core work. It also recognises the role of Public Health in working with others across the Council to influence good practice on using age friendly language, images and approaches to supporting staff as they age, so that all council employees can continue to thrive at work as they age.
3.4 All of these recommendations are considered realistic and achievable and reflective of the direction of travel for the council.
3.5 It is recommended that the Cabinet agrees to the implementation of the action plan as detailed in appendix 1.
Director of Adult Social Care and Health
Contact Officer: Ben Brown, Consultant in Public Health
Telephone Number: 01273 336229
Email: ben.brown@eastsussex.gov.uk