Agenda item

26.       

27.       

28.       

29.       

30.       

31.       

32.       

32.1.      The Board considered a report on the annual report of the Director of Public Health 2019/20: Health and Housing in East Sussex.

32.2.      The Board commented on the difficulty people with mental health issues may have dealing with poor housing; and the difficulty some may have in seeking professional help to deal with these problems.

32.3.      Keith Hinkley said that the report is clear on the need for collaborative work over the long term to deal with housing issues. Responsibility for housing rests across many organisations and there is therefore joint responsibility to help people with their housing issues and a need to work collaboratively to achieve this goal. 

32.4.      Sam Allen, Chief Executive of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), said that the report would be considered by the Trust’s Board given the importance of housing to mental health, and the potential role the Trust could have meeting the housing needs of its patients and assisting people with mental health issues to maintain their housing.

32.5.      The Board asked for clarity on what its role should be in relation to housing matters.

32.6.      Keith Hinkley said this report will help inform key areas of work of the ESHSCP and of the individual member organisations over the coming years, for example, by including housing related support in the future ESHSCP mental health and children’s services workstreams; and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) taking decisions around housing related support and accommodation services, which are outside the scope of the ESHSCP but are delivered in partnership with the district and borough councils. The progress of the ESHSCP is reported to the Board and so housing matters can be monitored by the Board via the quarterly update reports.

32.7.      The Board asked what more could be done to improve air quality, particularly along busy roads like the A259.

32.8.      Darrell Gale, Director of Public Health, said that the 5.2% of deaths in the county connected to air quality tend to be related to chronic rather than acute exposure, i.e., long term exposure to poor air quality, and are a look back rather than projection of future deaths. Transport is part of the cause of poor air quality and Transport for South East is always looking at improving air quality through transport initiatives; rural deprivation is also a cause, particularly through wood burning; and local customs around bonfires and fireworks can have an effect. These areas would need to be looked at to potentially reduce deaths in the future. 

32.9.      The Board asked about whether dental surgeries should be available to people within a 20 minute travel distance time like GP practices.

32.10.   Darrell Gale agreed that more needs to be done to understand access to NHS dentistry services and recognise its relation to levels of deprivation.

32.11.   The Board asked why childhood injury rates in East Sussex were worse compared to the rest of the country.

32.12.   Darrell Gale agreed the rates were a concern. Over the past year, his team has put together a comprehensive programme to start to address issues such as poisoning in the home, access to sources of fire, and access to safe play. This programme is being delivered by health visitors and school nurses.

32.13.   The Board asked about whether planning authorities can help reduce the risk of people getting too hot in their homes during summer, as insulation levels improve and summers become warmer.

32.14.   Darrell Gale agreed planning authorities can have a role, for example, banning single aspect flats, particularly those facing due south, due to lack of through winds; and encouraging planning applications that use of trees and shading to support cooling houses.

32.15.   The Board asked whether more information on housing deprivation could be provide at a ward level.

32.16.   Darrell Gale agreed to ask his team to respond to any specific queries relating to deprivation at a ward level within East Sussex.

32.17.   The Board asked whether the Director of Public Health supported the idea of individual wards, such as Hollington in Hastings, producing their own anti-poverty strategy.

32.18.   Darrell Gale said he supported creating local anti-poverty strategies. It was also important that they are incorporated into the Hastings Borough Council’s Town deal. The Economic Development Team and Public Health Team of ESCC can also provide support with these strategies.

32.19.   The Board asked about whether a campaign on ventilating homes would help improve the issue of poor quality indoor air.

32.20.   Darrell Gale suggested it can be confusing for people to know what to do, as some messages tell people to seal their house from the cold, whilst others say to keep it well ventilated at all times. Many new houses are well insulated but poorly ventilated. He acknowledged that people who pay for metered heating are unlikely to want to open windows and lose the heat.

32.21.   The Board asked whether the issues of temporary and emergency accommodation and the high level of suicide amongst residents of them should be included in the report.

32.22.   Darrell Gale said the Public Health Team is undertaking a suicide audit and it was felt it was not the best timing to include mention of it in the report as investigation was ongoing. He added there was a worrying trend of landlords offering to convert buildings into emergency accommodation but providing substandard accommodation.

32.23.   The Board RESOLVED to endorse the annual report of the Director of Public Health.