Fiona Johnstone, Director of Public Health, gave a presentation on the Annual Public Health Report for Wirral 2011. The report took a life-cycle approach to reviewing the health of people on Wirral. It looked at the different stages in people’s lives, beginning before birth right through to older age, considered the challenges and opportunities to improve health and wellbeing and made a number of recommendations.

Having already achieved a great deal for the people of Wirral; the health of the population in general was improving, premature deaths from conditions such as heart disease were reducing and life expectancy was increasing. However, there were still considerable challenges ahead. ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ showed that men living in Wirral’s richest areas could expect to live nearly 15 years longer than those from the poorest parts of the borough and that in parts of Birkenhead deaths from heart disease were 15% higher than the national average.

There was no doubt that vast improvements in public health had led to people living longer, whereby more than four in five deaths now occurred after the age of 65. The nature of health threats had also changed dramatically, with most people now dying in old age and of noncommunicable diseases. The biggest threats to life today were diseases that usually occurred later in life or those brought on earlier by poor lifestyle choices.

Responding to comments from Members, the Director, with reference to ‘the unsustainable nature of the long-term costs of ill-health’ stated that in continuing to provide good treatment for all and supporting those in need, the key essence of the direction of travel needed to be to try and stop a health issue escalating into a crisis. A radical approach was needed to develop wellness services through the NHS and Social Care.

She outlined her current position as a joint appointment between the NHS and the Council and that she would be happy to bring her Departmental Plan to the Committee. Explaining the role and membership of the Health and Well Being Board, the Director informed the meeting that the Board, which was in shadow form at the moment, had met formally for the first time in December. The Board would become statutory in April 2013. She would be happy to make the minutes of the Board available to the Committee and there was a need to consider the Committee’s relationship with the Board to ensure the Committee were aware of what the Board was doing.

With regard to the disappointing figures for breastfeeding within deprived areas, the Director outlined a number of reasons why this was so and stated that a comprehensive programme was in place to try and increase the numbers.

This minute was subsequently amended by the Committee on 12 March (minute 58 refers) to include the following:

The Chair thanked the Director of Public Health for her informative presentation.

Resolved – That the Annual Public Health Report and presentation be noted and this Committee endorses the recommendations contained within it.