Agenda item

The Council’s Consultant in Public Health Primary Care and Transitions (CPHPCT) delivered a presentation on the Barking and Dagenham Health Inequalities Programme 2022/23, which provided context as to health inequalities in the Borough in comparison with London and nationally, how the funding was secured for the programme, programme workstreams and the benefits of the programme.

In response to questions from Members, the CPHPCT stated that:

• In terms of the debt and health pilot, the Council was identifying adults who were falling into debt, such as those who were failing to pay Council Tax, as well as those whose social care records showed that they had low level mental health problems, as it was aware that debt could exacerbate mental health issues and that mental health issues could make it more challenging to manage debt. This was a pilot that had previously been undertaken, with the Council looking to scale this up, as well as make this more effective through linking it to the NHS. Those identified would be approached and offered the opportunity to access social prescribing, with social prescribers being trained to signpost and support these residents with expert advice on debt and health.
• Currently, no referrals into Talking Therapies or IAPT would be made, as there was no medical diagnosis or clinical assessment as part of the programme. The debt workstream was focusing on reaching those residents who were falling into debt before the issue started to escalate; however, referrals could be a future iteration of the programme.
• The Council was going to look into the data that all partners held, to ensure that all across the system had the same understanding of health inequalities within the Borough. This data could then be used to better support planning delivery, through the creation of a data indicator set or dashboard that all partners could refer to. The Council was also working closely with its Data Insight Hub to support this work.

The DIC at NEL ICB stated that there was an opportunity to look at how residents could be better signposted to NHS services, and that confirmation had also recently been received that the funding for the debt workstream would become recurrent, which would help with long-term planning. Residents could also self-refer into IAPT services if they had any concerns.

The Clinical Director for Barking and Dagenham also stated that each of the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) had Inequality Clinical Leads; each PCN would likely have different prevalence rates for different conditions and the Leads would be able to identify these and concentrate resources in a tailored way to that area.

In response to further questions, the CPHPCT stated that there was a work stream which aimed to identify interventions for children and young people who were starting to develop low-level mental health issues, to provide them with support within the community to build their resilience. The ICD at NELFT stated that self-referrals could be made into the Barking and Dagenham CAMHS service; there was a phone number and a website and residents were able to make use of these. The Clinical Director for Barking and Dagenham also emphasised the importance of raising awareness amongst young people for them to come forward to their school counsellors if they had any concerns, as well as ensuring that GP practices were young people-friendly. Signposting in libraries and Community Hubs would also be key in promoting services; work was also being undertaken at Riverside to encourage conversations around mental health amongst young people.

In response to a question from a Member, the ICD at NELFT stated that NELFT worked in conjunction with social care colleagues at the Council to support patients who were eligible for Freedom Passes, to make these applications.

Owing to the number of questions around the health inequalities work, the Committee agreed to bring this item back to a future meeting of the Committee, where it could explore this topic in increased detail.