Agenda item

(To receive a report by the Director of Public Health, which presents the Director of Public Health's (DPH) Annual Report 2021)

Consideration was given to a report by the Director for Public Health, which introduced the Director of Public Health Annual Report for 2021, as set out at Appendix A. The report being a joint report between the Director for Public Health and the Executive Director – Children’s service, with the focus being the health of children and young people in Lincolnshire, and the impact of Covid-19 on this population.

The Director for Public Health emphasised the importance of delivering services designed for children and young people as well as a need to focus on improving education around physical activity, diet, nutrition and emotional and mental wellbeing, which were the three core elements that help to create a healthy child and a healthy adult..

The report referred to Child Health within Lincolnshire, in particular the burden of disease, morbidity, mortality and the health and healthcare available to young people in Lincolnshire. It was important to address the fact that the number of years lived with disability reflected the impact an illness had on the quality of a person’s life before it was resolved or led to death and to address these individual issues and the effects that they had on children.

The Committee was informed that children in deprived areas were more likely to live in an area without water fluoridation, which risk factors contributed to poorer dental health for children living in more deprived areas.

One of the most significant impact on Children and Young People which had arisen from Covid-19 was the indirect impact of the school closures and the impact on social isolation and the impact this had had on their level of education and their mental health and wellbeing, which had led to an increase in referrals for behavioural problems, sleep difficulties, complex health issues and additional needs and speech and language.

Overall, children had faced significant challenge in terms of disruptions to learning and development as a result of the pandemic; there had been an increase in child obesity as a result of mental ill health and isolation.

The Director for Public Health emphasised the importance of ensuing that the services available for children and young people were designed specifically for them and not adopted versions of adult services, with a particular focus on physical activity, diet, nutrition, emotional and mental well being and the prioritisation of education opportunities in order to address health inequalities.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• It was suggested that it would be beneficial to promote nutrition, education and health opportunities within the national curriculum so that children were educated from a young age.
• A concern was raised that children in more deprived communities with no access to fluoridated water had higher levels of dental health and it was suggested that this topic be explored further, particularly with the lack of NHS dental provision in Lincolnshire which was an ongoing concern.
• As a result of the challenges faced by the pandemic, progress on the recommendations from previous years had been slower than was hoped. 
• A number of projects were in progress which sought to improve the health and fitness of people within Lincolnshire.
• The Committee agreed that diet was an important factor in the health of children and young people. However, it was acknowledged that not all families had the financial resources, education or opportunities to provide a healthy diet.
• The work of the Future 4 Me service was commended, and it was hoped that funding would continue to be provided to the service. 
• The Committee praised the Children’s Services team for their hard work during the pandemic.
• The Committee recognised the importance of maintaining the elevated status that the public health agenda had gained as a result of Covid-19.
• The Director of Public Health recorded his thanks to Mike Saunders, Public Health Registrar, and Andy Fox, Lead Consultant for Children’s Services along with other Children’s services colleagues for their work in producing the annual report.
• There has not been a large response to the consultation from the general public, however a number of comments had been received made through discussions and other mechanisms.

RESOLVED:

          That the report be considered and its content be noted.