Commission publishes Interim Report for Discussion

The Commission is pleased to announce the publication of its Interim Report (available here), which it hopes will stimulate widespread and productive debate and discussion towards development of its Final Report, due for release in September this year.

The Report identifies six key themes for intervention: Alcohol, Smoking and Diet; Procurement; Incapacity Benefit; Health at Work; Built Environment and Knowledge Capital.

Within those themes, the Commission recommends six “Big Ideas” as follows:

A world-class institute in Liverpool to study local health improvement, involving academics and the NHS, a UK first.

• The first-ever procurement Concordat in the UK that will see major public and private bodies signing up to buy goods and services from local sources.
• A groundbreaking Health at Work Charter, a UK first, to promote a complete work-based set of rules for employees and employers.
• An attack on problems related to alcohol, smoking and diet that will see Health Impact Assessment procedures introduced for the first time in England, via the licencing and planning system.
• Taking a national lead in putting health and well-being at the centre of urban planning, re-kindling pioneering Dr Duncan who set up the world’s first Public Health Department in Liverpool.
• Establishing a North West Worklessness Task Force that will help ease people disengaged from a working life back into mainstream employment.

The Commission welcomes your thoughts and feedback, and has asked for input on these ideas or any other issues emerging from the Interim Report to be returned before its final sitting at the end of June 2008.

Feedback can be submitted via the Commission’s secretariat on 0151 236 2323 or email hiw@octobercomms.co.uk

Health is Wealth speaks to youth on Merseyside

Members of the Health is Wealth Commission have recently found a candid youth perspective on the key issues published in their recent Interim Report. The Commission spoke to young members of the Knowsley Youth Parliament based in Huyton. The session involved over 30 young people and considered all of the Commission’s burning questions, but from a younger point of view.

Overall, the biggest issue that members of the Knowsley Youth Parliament (KYP) feel is facing young people today is alcohol abuse. Many were concerned about the effects it may have on their peers and some had seen first hand the detrimental effects it can have on health. One member of the Parliament told of her own personal experience with alcohol abuse when she had her stomach pumped aged 14. This was due to the over consumption of alcohol.

Smoking was also high up on the agenda, and drugs, fast food and eating disorders were also acknowledged as worrying factors in poor health of young people across the region.

When asked if they themselves felt healthy, those that said yes were in the majority, because they exercise and try hard to eat healthily. Some, however, said that this lifestyle is difficult to maintain all of the time, particularly with so many tempting vices available.

Most of the KYP expressed an interest in seeing stricter licensing laws for alcohol in pubs and supermarket sales. One said: “The age limit could definitely be higher, and this should be extended to smaller off licences too.” However, many more were of the opinion that while they personally thought it would be a good idea to raise age limits, this would not deter irresponsible youngsters from consuming alcohol underage: “Raising the age limit will make no difference because it will be seen as a rebellious thing to drink illegally and will encourage younger people to turn to alcohol.” Another said that the age limit should actually be lowered to allow young people to take “more of a responsibility at a younger age.”

Many found alcohol advertisements very persuasive because they show that “people who drink alcohol tend to have a good time”. The flashy nature of the ads makes the product appeal to members of the KYP and several said that if they see a new alcohol advert on television, it makes them actively seek out the product to try it. Some were less bothered by adverts, but were aware that many of their friends and people of a similar age were very “drawn in” by them.

Youngsters were also asked how they felt about the price of cigarettes and alcohol; do they find them cheap or expensive? There was a real split in the group on this issue, particularly on alcohol prices but everyone said that cigarettes were very expensive. In terms of alcohol, most said that it was cheap and affordable to buy in shops, but less so in pubs and bars. One philosophical KYP member said that “People will always make poor decisions on cigarettes and alcohol, changing the prices won’t make much difference and may make younger people turn to cheaper substances.”

Poor diet was also high on the agenda for the KYP with many in favour of the idea of moving fast food outlets away from school areas to “preserve good health”. However, some were concerned that there would be nothing else to eat nearby and alternative food outlets would need to be provided.

Much like the Health is Wealth Commission; the KYP found the issue of Incapacity Benefit (IB) a very complex and difficult one. In essence, they felt that IB is extremely positive for those who are very sick and cannot work and many members of the KYP knew or were related to someone claiming IB. They did acknowledge the abuse of IB and the benefits system more generally though, and felt that this was very unfair – “people should claim it as a last resort only.” They did stress the need for equality, particularly for those who are ill and claiming benefits legitimately – “they are the same as everyone else.”

In terms of their local built environment, nearly everyone on the KYP felt that there were enough green spaces near where they live, but that the facilities on them were limited. They would prefer better lighting and facilities such as goal posts, skating rinks and swing parks so that there is more for young people to do when they socialise.

In their future working lives, most of the youngsters said that they would like their workplaces to consider their personal health at work with facilities made widely available such as childcare services and counselling sessions to help eliminate stress. Already, the young members of the KYP are feeling stressed about their future working lives and many already have part time jobs around their studies.

The majority of the KYP are planning to go on to further study after they finish school, with many aiming for university. When asked about the reputations of universities in the region, the response was mixed with some agreeing that HE institutions in the Liverpool City-Region are world class while others (in the minority) disagreed.

The Health is Wealth Commission will be following up on these findings and aims to continue to work closely with members of the KYP over the summer. The final conclusions from the collaboration will be included in the final report, due for publication in September 2008.

The Commission welcomes Dr Ruth Hussey

NHS advertising spend was high on the agenda at the Commission’s July meeting, when the Commission was delighted to welcome Dr Ruth Hussey, Regional Director of Public Health in the North West and SHA Medical Director at NHS North West.

As part of her extensive remit, Dr. Hussey is at the forefront of tackling health inequalities across the region, and Commissioners made the most of the opportunity to draw on her vast knowledge and experience of public health in the North West. 

Key points of discussion during the meeting included Dr Hussey’s recent success in the “Living Better, Living Longer, Caring More” campaign, a new social marketing initiative which hopes to improve health standards by encouraging long-term behavioural change in the region’s residents via a series of themed awareness-raising campaigns.

Commission appoints “Street” research team

The Health is Wealth Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of Liverpool-based research team The Murray Consultancy to deliver its “Street” research project.  The project will examine health and economic issues at street-level across the City-region, and will be guided in its development by a sub-group of Commissioners – Sue Woodward, Claire Dove, Beatrice Fraenkel and Bernard Hogan-Howe. It findings will be released in September, and will be used to inform the Commissions investigations over the next year.

Weekend session at Burton Manor

Health is Wealth Commissioners headed to Burton Manor on the Wirral for an in-depth weekend residential session. The Away Day, which took place across Friday, 20th and Saturday, 21st April 2007, provided a chance for Commissioners to get to know each other, spend time examining key issues and decide how best to begin addressing the core aims of the Commission.

During the meeting, Commissioners discussed their thoughts on the Commissions main priorities for investigation, which areas they thought might achieve the most impact, and who they would like to hear from when its evidential stage gets underway in May.

Commissioners also heard presentations from Karen Tocque of the Liverpool Public Health Observatory, who have been appointed to provide research support for the Commission, and from Debbie Abrahams of IMPACT, whose team will carry out Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) on the Commission’s recommendations as they emerge.

Sue Woodward, Chair of the Commission said: “The Away Day was a valuable chance for Commissioners, including myself, to really get our teeth into the challenge ahead.  It was great to be able to take the time to go into detail about what we feel is at the heart of the current inequalities in the City Region, and what tangible improvements the Commission wants to make.

“I think I can speak for all my fellow Commissioners when I say that we feel clearer about how we want to proceed, and ready to begin getting to grips with the task in hand.”