Public Health Updates
To receive a presentation from the Public Health Officer and a representative from Devon County Council, updating the Group on the role of Public Health.
Minutes:
The Public Health Manager introduced the Public Health Officer and the Public Health Specialist from Devon County Council (DCC). He explained that the authority was working in partnership with DCC.
The Public Health and Professional Services Officer gave a presentation to the Group which outlined the public health role, its health vision, aims and priorities, its link to the Corporate Plan, statutory functions, projects and partners as well as looking ahead at the local action plan.
The Officer explained that 40% of premature deaths were caused by behavioural patterns and that this was an area that Public Health could help to improve.
He informed the Group that district councils played a key role in keeping people healthy by providing core local services, economic development, planning, housing, leisure, wellbeing and environmental services that were recognised as vital components of health.
The officer explained that the vision of the Public Health Service was a ‘happy and healthy Mid Devon’. Its aims were to improve health and reduce health inequalities, increase the profile of public health, lever better health value and create opportunities for partnership and innovation. Priority areas were emotional health and resilience, vascular disease and cancer, air quality and housing.
Discussion took place regarding:
· Eco Stars and the benefits to air quality;
· The Public Health Officer would be going out and about in the District with Members to see at first hand any issues that Members were aware of;
· The importance of nutrition in food health and the possibility of work being undertaken to improve diet by the introduction of cooking workshops;
· Exercise equipment that could be placed in local parks to encourage activity;
· Rural isolation and how this could be used to help with public health by encouraging older residents to share their knowledge with younger residents.
The Chairman thanked the officers for their presentation.