Agenda item - JSNA: update on rolling programme of needs assessments

Report of the Director of Public Health (copy attached).

 8.1      The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health which explained that since April 2013, local authorities and clinical commissioning groups had equal and explicit obligations to prepare a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).  This duty would be discharged by the Health and Wellbeing Board.  The Board were asked to approve the planned programme of needs assessments for 2013/14 and note the requirement to produce a pharmaceutical Needs Assessment by March 2015. 

8.2             Alistair Hill, Consultant in Public Health reported that priorities for the rolling programme of needs assessments for 2013/4 were set out in paragraph 3.7 in the report.  The priorities were Dementia Needs Assessment, Trans Needs Assessment scoping, Homeless Link Health Needs Audit. Preparation to conduct a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) in 2014/15 would also take place.

8.3       Denise D’Souza asked if officers were talking to NHS mental health partners with regards to the Homeless Link Health Needs Audit.  The Consultant in Public Health replied that he was liaising with Sussex Partnership Trust NHS Foundation Trust  

8.4       Robert Brown asked if individual needs assessments would incorporate a community-asset mapping approach and if so how this would be done.  Mr Brown referred to section 4 of the report and stated that this was not community consultation/engagement. It was statutory engagement. 

8.5       The Consultant in Public Health explained that the role of asset mapping would be considered within the scope of individual needs assessments.  Regarding the comment on engagement, Section 4 of the report had been written in recognition of how the list was drawn up. Officers had not carried out extensive consultation for the topics for this year’s programme but had considered the Health and Wellbeing Strategy development, the JSNA and scrutiny reports. The establishment of Healthwatch and the Health & Wellbeing Board as a statutory body on 1 April 2013 would enable discussions on having a wider engagement in this process in future.   

8.6       The Chair suggested that there could be further thought as to how to improve community engagement work across the scope of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

8.7       Councillor Bowden asked if a representative from the Clare Project was involved in Trans needs assessment scoping.  The Consultant in Public Health explained that he had initially been liaising with the LGBT Health and Inclusion Project whose remit included working with a range of LGBT organisations.  The Consultant in Public Health expected groups such as the Clare Project to be engaged in the scoping.

8.8       Hayyan Assifmade the point that there was not much included in the report about young people.  He asked whether community and voluntary sector organisations for children and young people had contributed to the JSNA? The Consultant in Public Health stated that he was aware that this was the case and could circulate the names of the organisations that had responded to the call for evidence with the minutes.  Regarding the list of priorities, he accepted the point regarding children and young people but stressed that the Trans need assessment scoping work would consider young people.  Officers were already working with children and young people regarding this issue. 

8.9       Geraldine Hoban asked how priority areas were selected.  She commented on the recent publication of the Longer Lives data by Public Health England and asked whether Public Health had plans to look at this matter in more depth.  The Consultant in Public Health replied that officers would be looking at comparative data. He suggested that the Board could have a presentation on this data if requested.

8.10    At this point in the meeting the Chair announced that he had to leave the meeting as he needed to travel to a conference in Ireland.  Councillor Shanks took over as Chair for the remainder of the meeting.  

8.11    Jo Lyons reported that Children’s Services were launching a toolkit for schools which would look at some of the issues raised.

8.12    Denise D’Souza asked if the Homeless Link Needs Audit would record where people came from i.e. were homeless people being discharged from hospital?  The Consultant in Public Health stated that he would make sure that the survey included a question asking if people had recently been discharged from hospital or psychiatric care.

8.13    RESOLVED – (1) That the following programme of needs assessments for 2013/14 be approved:

·        Dementia needs assessment

·        Trans needs assessment scoping

·        Homeless Link Health Needs Audit

(2)       That the requirement for a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment by March 2015 be noted.