NOTES OF EVIDENCE

Meeting	Policy Commission for Care, Health and Housing
Ref	He.PC.22/03/06
Date	22^ndMarch 2006
Time	18.00hrs
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight
Purpose of meeting	Formal public meeting
Attendance	Commission	Cllrs Erica Oulton (Chairman), Geoff Lumley, Roger Mazillius, Win McRobert, Margaret Webster, Colin West and David Whittaker Co-opted Members Mr Robert Jones – Vice Chairman, Primary Care PPIF
	Cabinet	Cllr Dawn Cousins
	Secretariat	Cllr David Pugh
	Other Councillors
	Officers	Ms Louise Biggs - Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Team Ms April West - O&S Team Mr Andrew Williamson, Interim Director of Adult and Community Services
	Stakeholders	Dr Paul Bingham, Director of Public Health, Public Health Department, Isle of Wight Primary Care Trust Mr Jim Fawcett, Public Health Department, IWPCT Ms Elaine Garrett, Public Health Department, IWPCT Mr Brian Johnston, Risk Manager, Isle of Wight Healthcare Trust Ms Heather Lovell, Public Health Department IWPCT
	Apologies	None
Agenda Items
1. To agree the notes of evidence arising at the extraordinary meeting held on 15 February 2006	Notes agreed with no amendments.
2. Declarations of Interest.	None
3. To receive information on the Public Health Strategy from the Public Health Team, Isle of Wight Primary Care Trust (IWPCT)	3.1 The Public Health Department on the Island is a member of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Public Health Network (PHN) and undertakes health protection on the Island for the Health Protection Agency. There are also a number of joints posts between the IWPCT and the Isle of Wight Council 3.2 The 4 main areas of responsibility of the public health team are: health protection, knowledge and information, health services delivery and health improvement 3.3 The 2005 Department of Health White Paper on public health, “Choosing Health – making healthier choices easier” listed 6 key priorities: 3.3.1 Smoking cessation 3.3.2 Obesity / nutrition 3.3.3 Physical activity 3.3.4 Sexual health 3.3.5 Mental health 3.3.6 Sensible drinking 3.4 Smoking cessation has been taken into the community on the Island, including schools (starting at primary age). 3.5 Health improvement depends on a number of factors, including: economy, transport, housing, environment, education and community safety. 3.6 The Isle of Wight Local Area Agreement has several priorities relating to public health within it. These are: ‘smoke-free public places/smoking cessation service’, ‘obesity eduction – physical activity and improved diet’, improving the quality of life for older people’, reducing suicide’ and ‘reducing homelessness’ and safe healthy housing’. 3.7 Treating health problems associated with obesity and smoking is far more expensive than preventing people from smoking and encouraging them to give up, along-side encouraging people to eat healthily and exercise. 3.8 There has been in excess winter mortality in recent years, with the figure being around 350 in 2005, associated with the increasing price of fuel. This primarily affects older people, children and those who are ill. Improving the insulation of homes can allows people to heat their houses better and therefore stay healthier – with grants being available for this purpose. It would be helpful if GPs could ask patients about other factors which may be affecting their health, such as their housing conditions. 3.9 The public health function on the Island is core-funded from the NHS, but is also able to bring in money from other sources. More joint posts (with the Council) will assist to improve information sharing and analysis. 3.10 Carers are mentioned within the White Paper, “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say” and guidance on this specific issue is forthcoming. 3.11 Stress, covered by the mental health aspect of the is becoming increasingly prevalent amongst the population with a resulting increase in the health problems associated with it. 3.12 Although a national-level problem, the matter of tobacco additives is an important one in terms of promoting smoking cessation. The Director of Public Health agreed to make further investigations follow on from some work undertaken in 2004 and correspondence with Cllr Mazillius.
4. To receive a presentation from Mr Brian Johnston, Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust	4.1 There are 24 Core Standards, which represent the minimum standards that patients should expect from their NHS organisations. These 24 standards are further broken down into a total of 44 standards. 4.2 Such standards are particularly valuable as there’s an increasing emphasis on finance and activity. 4.3 The declaration will be put before the trust board on 27^th April 2006 and the final submission to the Healthcare Commission will be made by 4^th May 2006 4.4 The Healthcare Commission cross-check the information contained within the Declaration and 10% of NHS Trusts are randomly inspected. 4.5 The Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust anticipate that they will not meet 3 core standards: C4a: Infection control and MRSA, C4b: Medical devices management and C4c: decontamination of reusable medical devices. 4.6 Trusts are judged to either be meeting the standards either: ‘fully’, ‘almost’, ‘partly’ or ‘not at all’ depending upon how many of the core standards are met. If a trust meets 44 out of the total of the core standards then it is judged to have ‘fully’ met the standards. 4.7 Overall ratings are given to each Trust: either ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘fair’ or ‘weak’.
Actions	1. The annual public health report to be brought to the policy commission or Full Council in due course. 2. Representations to be made to Government / Faculty of Public Health Directors on smoking additives. 3. The Policy Commission to submit comments on the annual health check.		Public Health Department / Overview and Scrutiny / Committee support Public Health Department Overview & Scrutiny Team / Policy Commission