08 - 2025-06-18 IJB - Public Health Annual Report
North Lanarkshire Council · 18 June 2025
Back to Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board — 18 June 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 REPORT Item No: 8 SUBJECT: Director of Public Health Annual Report TO: North HSCP Integration Joint Board Lead Officer for Report: Professor S. Josephine Pravinkumar, Director of Public Health and Health Policy Author(s) of Report Professor S. Josephine Pravinkumar, Director of Public Health and Health Policy DATE: 18 June 2025 1. PURPOSE OF REPORT This paper is coming to the IJB for: For Approval: ☐ For Endorsement: ☐ To Note: ☒ 2. ROUTE TO THE BOARD This paper has been: NHS Lanarkshire Board Prepared By: ☐ Reviewed By: ☒ Endorsed By: ☒ 3. BACKRGROUND The primary purpose of the DPH Annual report is to report on the work of the directorate and local partners on population health priorities to the board. The report is also an advocacy tool for population health and raises awareness of these priorities. This year the main focus of the DPHAR is the health of Infants, Children and Young People. It will explore some of the usual public health themes, through a child health lens.
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2 2024 was a landmark year for our children, with The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 coming into effect and ensuring all those under 18 have their rights protected by law. It recognises that childhood is a special time in people’s lives. I have also included an update on the actions identified as priorities in last year’s report, which focussed on the theme of NHS as an anchor organisation. I am pleased to report that we are making good progress across many areas on the Anchor Action Plan, however, there is lot more work to do to improve population health and address inequalities. Some key highlights of progress include: • Anchor Steering group and governance routes in place. Performance against the Scottish Government metrics for 2023/24 demonstrates improvement across many measures with increased employability and apprenticeship placements and increased spend on local businesses and with small and medium sized enterprises. • North Lanarkshire Partnership endorsed a multi-agency Community Wealth Building statement in December 2024. Work is now underway to develop a Partnership Implementation Plan. • Delivery on a number of Community Benefit Requirements for Monklands Replacement Project has commenced and in addition, NHS Lanarkshire has commenced delivery of Community Benefits beyond the scope of the contract. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 It is recommended that the IJB PFA note the contents of the report in particular the key priorities that need actioned to improve children’s and the wider population health. 5. VARIATIONS TO DIRECTIONS? This section outlines if the report requires a direction to be issued to the Local Authority, the Health Board, to both, or that no direction is required 6. BACKGROUND This year’s Director of Public Health Annual Report focuses on the health of infants, children, and young people, addressing public health priorities such as child poverty, mental health, vaccination, oral health, breastfeeding, and screening programmes. It highlights the challenges and progress in improving population health and reducing inequalities, with a strong emphasis on children's rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A ☒
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3 7. SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES • Child Health Priorities: Mental health, child poverty, and inequalities remain significant challenges. Initiatives like Kooth, school counselling, and targeted weight management programmes aim to address these issues. • Vaccination Decline: Vaccine uptake has steadily fallen, requiring targeted efforts to improve immunization rates. • Child Poverty: 23.6% of children in South Lanarkshire and 26.9% in North Lanarkshire live in relative poverty, necessitating collaborative efforts to mitigate impacts. • Oral Health: Significant improvements in oral health among children, with Lanarkshire exceeding national targets for dental decay prevention. • Breastfeeding: Cultural barriers persist, but initiatives like the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland scheme show positive impacts. • Screening Programmes: Uptake rates vary across programmes, with inequalities in participation among deprived populations. • Vaping Among Youth: High prevalence of vaping among young people, with limited awareness of cessation support. • Children’s Voices: Engagement with children revealed their understanding of health and wellbeing, emphasizing mental health, physical activity, and healthy diets. • The National Population Health Framework will be published shortly and will influence our strategic priorities. 8. CONCLUSIONS • NHS Lanarkshire has made progress in addressing child health priorities, but challenges like mental health, child poverty, and vaccination decline require sustained efforts. • Collaborative, whole-system approaches are essential to tackle inequalities and improve health outcomes. • Children's rights under UNCRC are being actively integrated into health policies and programmes.
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4 9. IMPLICATIONS • The report highlights the need for continued focus on multidisciplinary, multiagency approaches to address health inequalities to improve child health. 9.1 NATIONAL OUTCOMES Link(s) to National Health and Wellbeing Outcomes People are able to look after and improve their own health and wellbeing and live in good health for longer ☒ People, including those with disabilities or long-term conditions, or who are frail, are able to live, as far as reasonable practicable, independently and at home or in a homely setting in their community ☒ People who use Health and Social Care Services have positive experiences of those services, and have dignity respected ☒ Health and Social Care Services are centred on helping to maintain or improve the quality of life of people who use those services ☒ Health and Social Care Services contribute to reducing health inequalities ☒ People who use Health and Social Care Services are safe from harm ☒ People who work in Health and Social Care Services feel engaged with the work they do and are supported to continuously improve the information, support, care and treatment they provide ☒ Resources are used effectively and efficiently in the provision of Health and Social Care Services ☒ 9.2 ASSOCIATED MEASURE(S) NA 9.3 FINANCIAL This paper has been reviewed by Finance: Yes No N/A 9.4 RISK ASSESSMENT/RISK MANAGEMENT Relevant Risk Register Details Current Risk Level Risk Owner Choose an item. 9.5 ENGAGEMENT & PARTICIPATION
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5 Please tick the engagement and participation objectives that link(s) with this piece of work and provide further details on the engagement and participation that was undertaken. Objectives Further details ☐ Involve stakeholders in the development work aimed at achieving the national outcomes ☐ Provide stakeholders with information on how to get involved ☐ Ensure a diverse range of engagement and participation and opportunities are in place to suit different needs ☐ Measure how well we involve community stakeholders in the planning, design and delivery of our services ☐ Provide regular feedback on how stakeholder engagement and participation is shaping and influencing service development and delivery ☐ Provide support to enable stakeholder representatives to participate meaningfully and confidently at meetings ☐ Develop participation guidelines to ensure a common understanding and set of expectations for both stakeholders and partnership staff ☐ Support engagement planning and participation in localities, taking account of other engagement activity and local plans across the Community Planning Partnership 9.6 INEQUALITIES & FAIRER SCOTLAND DUTY EQIA Completed & Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment Form Completed and attached to report: Yes No N/A
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6 EQIA added to website: Yes No N/A 10. BACKGROUND PAPERS Director of Public Health Annual Report 2024 DPHAR 2024 appendices Director of Public Health Annual Report 2024 on Vimeo 11. APPENDICES Please include a glossary of terms if not already included. Members seeking further information about any aspect of this report, please contact the following; S Josephine Pravinkumar Director of Public Health and Health Policy NHS Lanarkshire josephine.pravinkumar@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk