ICS Priority 3: Support our residents to maintain healthy lifestyles
ICB Strategic Priority: Increase healthy life expectancy, and reduce inequality
ICB Clinical Priority: Reduced premature mortality rate for CVD.
ICB Challenge:
- Falling life expectancy through conditions including heart disease and obesity
- The number of adults who are overweight was similar to that of England in 2020/21, and still notably high at 62%, with wide variation between districts.
- Around 1 in 5 adults across our geography are physically inactive, which means around 20% of the adult population are at increased risk of a range of health conditions and diseases which are preventable through increased physical activity.
- Smoking prevalence in adults is similar or better than the England average for all our districts; however, there is some variation between the areas with the lowest rates (St Albans at 5.4%) and the highest (Harlow at 18.9%).
- Whilst the majority of our system are better than the national average for smoking rates in early pregnancy and at delivery, in West Herts 1 in 10 women and in Hertfordshire as a whole 1 in 15 women are smokers.
- Variation in alcohol-related mortality within deprived areas experience higher rates.
Expected outcomes:
We will support people to be physically active, eat healthily and maintain a healthy weight, and we will provide support and advice to prevent tobacco, alcohol and substance misuse.
Governance Groups:
ICS Prevention Strategic Group
Essex Public Health targets: Year 3
- Increased uptake of smoking cessation services
- Reduced smoking rates
- Increased levels of physical activity
- Improved diet
- Reduced alcohol consumption
- Reduced levels of high cholesterol
- Increased uptake of mental wellbeing and community resilience support.
Year 4+
- Fewer exacerbations of conditions / admissions related to smoking
- Reduced levels of high blood pressure
- Reduced levels of obesity
- Improved blood glucose control
- Reduced prevalence of type 2 diabetes
- Reduced alcohol-related admissions
- Improved self-reported wellbeing score
What our residents say:
A survey into Joint Forward Plan priorities, carried out in 2023 by the ICB and thematically analysed by Healthwatch Hertfordshire heard from 1,124 respondents, predominantly aged 50+. It identified the following findings:
- 10% (41) of respondents suggested that the NHS could focus more on prevention to help improve the health of the population, but particularly those in the most need. Of this 10%, some respondents felt that the NHS could work more closely with other services, including councils, Public Health and the voluntary sector to improve health outcomes.
- Respondents suggested that prevention could focus on providing more education and practical support about how to live a healthy lifestyle.
- There was considerable support for more preventative interventions and early diagnosis through health checks.
Recommendations:
- GPs need awareness, education and training to signpost to support services, particularly for gambling addiction.
- Addiction awareness in schools and for parents – educate about soft socialisation to gambling and alcohol within families. Schools/colleges/universities should teach about gambling related harms as well as for drugs and alcohol.
- Drug addiction support organisations to increase the number of dual diagnosis workers to support people living with a mental health condition alongside their drug addiction.
Year 1 priority actions
- Prevention – work to include obesity reduction in various pathways, weight management services, tobacco dependency national programme.
- Clinical – focus on the following areas to support a reduction in CVD mortality:
- AF (detection and annual reviews)
- Hypertension (case finding and effective treatment)
- Lipid management
For further details about key deliverables across the next five years, please refer to pages 39 - 45 of the PDF.