Cabinet to discuss public health plans
Councillors are to receive an update on plans for the transfer of public health work currently undertaken by Shropshire County Primary Care Trust (PCT) to Shropshire Council in 2013.
At a meeting on Wednesday 21 March 2012 Shropshire Council’s Cabinet will discuss the Public Health Transition Plan for the county. Public health is about services and initiatives to prevent people getting ill, rather than treating sickness.
The Health and Social Care Bill currently going through Parliament sets out a major reform of the NHS in England. It outlines the Government’s intention to transfer many of the public health functions in England currently undertaken by PCTs to councils, from April 2013. In anticipation of this legislation a transition plan is required for each area.
Cabinet will be asked to note the plan produced jointly by Shropshire County PCT and Shropshire Council officers, the council’s new responsibilities from April 2013 and give its support, subject to final legislation, for the transfer.
Councillors will also be asked to support continued lobbying by the council, both regionally and nationally, to ensure that the challenges in improving health in rural communities are reflected in the Government’s future funding allocation for public health in Shropshire.
Shropshire Council’s chief executive has raised the issue with the Department of Health, as rural areas currently receive less per head of population for public health than urban areas.
Councillor Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, said:
“This transfer represents an even more crucial role for the council in contributing to the improvement of health and well-being and reducing inequalities in health for local people by working in partnership.
“We are embracing this role and are committed to working together to deliver more joined-up and efficient services that meet the health needs of our communities. We want to ensure the services that our residents receive are what they want and need from health and social care.”
Councillor Steve Charmley, Cabinet member responsible for active and healthy lifestyles, added:
“The council is doing everything it can to ensure the transition works and provides what people need.
“At the same time the council is lobbying the Government to increase public health funding for rural areas as Shropshire residents deserve a better deal, and Cabinet will be asked to support this continued work.”
Professor Rod Thomson, Director of Public Health for Shropshire County PCT, said:
“These are exciting times for public health, and we are working closely with the council to ensure a seamless transfer in 2013. We have a good record of joint working to build upon, and by being part of the council we can look at linking with services that can impact people’s health such as housing, social care and leisure. We are also working closely with the developing Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure that we retain our close links with the NHS.”
The report to Cabinet on the new responsibilities explains that a Shadow Health and Well-Being Board has been established for the council, and the Shropshire County Clinical Commissioning Group, which will have responsibility for commissioning services, to co-ordinate their plans for promoting the health and well-being of the population of Shropshire.
They are preparing a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and Joint Health and Well-being Strategy to meet local needs, and ongoing work is taking place to ensure that patients and service users can influence both the design and delivery of services in future.
At a national level, from April 2013, a National Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning primary medical and dental health care, such as GP surgeries; and a new body, Public Health England, will be established to provide a range of functions related to disease surveillance and emergency planning and support.
Further information
From April 2013 councils will be responsible for commissioning:
• tobacco control and smoking cessation services
• alcohol and drug misuse services
• public health services for children and young people aged 5-19 (including Healthy Child Programme 5-19) (and in the longer term all public health services for children and young people)
• the National Child Measurement Programme
• interventions to tackle obesity such as community lifestyle and weight management services
• locally-led nutrition initiatives
• increasing levels of physical activity in the local population
• NHS Health Check assessments
• public mental health services
• dental public health services
• accidental injury prevention
• population level interventions to reduce and prevent birth defects
• behavioural and lifestyle campaigns to prevent cancer and long-term conditions
• local initiatives on workplace health
• supporting, reviewing and challenging delivery of key public health funded and NHS delivered services such as immunisation and screening programmes
• comprehensive sexual health services (including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, contraception outside of the GP contract and sexual health promotion and disease prevention)
• local initiatives to reduce deaths as a result of seasonal mortality
• the local authority role in dealing with health protection incidents, outbreaks and emergencies
• public health aspects of promotion of community safety, violence prevention and response
• public health aspects of local initiatives to tackle social exclusion
• local initiatives that reduce public health impacts of environmental risks
