Part 1 - Open to the Public. REPORT OF Director of Public Health

Transcription

1 Part 1 - Open to the Public ITEM NO. REPORT OF Director of Public Health TO Joint Lead Member Briefing for Adult Services, Health & Wellbeing ON Wednesday 5 October 2016 Public Health Monthly Briefing RECOMMENDATIONS: Strategic Executive Lead Members are asked to note the contents of this report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This briefing offers an update on the strategy, process, and performance coming through the Health and Wellbeing programmes for the period running up to Wednesday 28 September BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: Not required KEY DECISION: NO Fighting Flu Together in Salford Flu Champions The below flu briefing is to be circulated to directors of services by , with further cascade down to managers and staff.. Dear Colleague, I am writing to ask you and your frontline staff to help us to protect the people of Salford from flu by encouraging the uptake of the vaccination among our eligible population. The CCG and SCC and SRFT will be asking all frontline staff to promote the flu vaccination with a Salford wide programme called Flu Champions. We are engaging and working with a range of local community services, the local fire service, the housing work scheme, GP s, Dental Practices, Care Homes and Pharmacies to influence uptake across the community. Staff will be provided with a flu pin badge to be worn throughout the flu vaccination period, September, October and November. The objective being to prompt staff to ask eligible patients /clients if they have had the flu vaccination. This will give them the opportunity to provide accurate information and quash the myths. A crib sheet - Facts and Myths, will be provided to all staff to ensure they feel confident in giving out the correct information. Free flu vaccinations will be available in GP surgeries and most pharmacies from early October. The following groups will be invited to attend for their jab. These include: People over 65; anyone of any age who has asthma or other chest conditions, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, kidney or liver disease or who has had a stroke; carers; pregnant women. Children aged two, three and four will receive a painless nasal spray. 1

2 Misconceptions about flu vaccine are common. However the flu vaccine is safe and effective. It cannot give you flu. Having the vaccination yourself can encourage others to do likewise. Please take every opportunity to encourage family, friends and anyone who you come into contact with to have the flu vaccination by passing on the following messages:- Getting vaccinated against flu can help protect us, our patients and family. We are all susceptible to flu, even if we are in good health and eat well. You can be infected with the virus and have no symptoms of flu but can still pass the virus to others including patients or residents. Good infection control measures are essential. They reduce the spread of flu, but are not sufficient alone to prevent it. The impact of flu on frail and vulnerable people can be fatal and outbreaks of the virus can cause severe disruption in communities, care homes and hospitals. We would like to thank you in advance for the priority that you will give to increasing flu vaccination this year. More info: Smoking prevalence in England is the lowest on record, according to Public Health England (PHE) In 2015, 16.9% of adults described themselves as smokers, compared with 19.3% in The decrease is due to the availability and use of e-cigarettes. More than a million people said they used e-cigs as they tried to quit and 700,000 used a licensed nicotine replacement product such as patches or gum. Out of the 2.5 million smokers who tried to quit, 20% were successful. According to Public Health England, this is the highest recorded successful quitting rate to date - six years ago the success rate was around one in seven. Year Smoking prevalence in England data from Integrated Household Survey Salford data from Integrated Household Survey % 26.3% % 22.9% % 24.4% % 22.3% The biggest decreases in smoking over the last four years were seen in the South West (18.7% to 15.5%), the North East (22% to 18.7%) and Yorkshire & Humber (21.9% to 18.6%). At the same time, prescriptions for nicotine replacement such as patches and gum have gone down, while sales of e-cigarettes have gone up. 2

3 In 2014/15, the number of prescription items dispensed in England to help people stop smoking was 1.3 million, compared to two million 10 years ago. Health professionals say the most effective way to quit smoking remains through prescription medication and professional support from free local NHS stop smoking services. Rosanna O'Connor, director of drugs, alcohol, tobacco at Public Health England, said: "The reduction in smoking rates isn't the result of a single magic bullet but concerted policies over decades." PHE released the figures ahead of its Stoptober campaign, which aims to encourage smokers to quit smoking during October because the evidence shows that taking a complete break from cigarettes for at least 28 days greatly increases the odds of being able to quit long term. E-cigarettes can help smokers to quit Electronic cigarettes could help smokers quit and do not appear to pose serious side-effects in the short- to mid-term, say researchers. The findings come from medical research group the Cochrane Collaboration, which has examined the best available evidence on the devices, together with a new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The new Cochrane Review builds on a 2014 review of the evidence on e-cigarettes, since when 11 more studies have been added. From examination of this evidence the Cochrane committee has concluded that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit and there is no evidence of serious side-effects from use over a two-year period. The review coincides with the publication in the BMJ of a study that suggests that e- cigarettes can increase success rates for smokers who are attempting to quit. The study looked at survey data from 170,490 individuals aged 16 and older in England between 2006 and 2015, 23% of whom had smoked in the past year, and 21% of whom were current smokers. The study also incorporated data on the use of NHS stop smoking services, which encompassed more than 8 million smokers. We estimate for every 10,000 people who used an e-cigarette to quit, approximately 580 would have quit who wouldn t have quit otherwise, said Robert West, co-author of the study and Professor of Health Psychology at University College, London. Overall, in 2015 the researchers estimate that e-cigarettes helped roughly 18,000 people to quit who would not have done otherwise. Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of health charity Action on Smoking and Health, said: Taken together, the Cochrane review and BMJ article provide further reassurance that e- cigarettes are not undermining quitting. Indeed, the evidence from England, where smoking prevalence is continuing to decline, is that e-cigarette use is associated with a higher rate of successful quit attempts by smokers. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: The Guardian view on a public health triumph: the numbers say it all A news publication by the Guardian celebrates a public health triumph and highlights the latest statistics from England and Wales show there were 2,517 infant deaths in England and 3

4 Wales in 2014, compared with 2,686 in 2013 and 6,037 in The infant mortality rate was 3.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, the lowest rate ever recorded in England and Wales and a decrease from 3.8 in Figure 1. Infant Mortality England and Wales trend data Infant mortality rates have decreased in England and Wales since the early 1900s. More recently, over the past 30 years, the rate of decline has varied; the decrease between 1984 and 1994 was more than double the decrease recorded in each of the latter 2 decades. Since 1984, when the rate was 9.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, there has been a 62% fall in the infant mortality rate in England and Wales. the Lullaby Trust, which funded his research, estimates that since the back to sleep campaign was launched in England and Wales in 1991, as many as 20,000 babies have been saved. General improvements in healthcare and more specific improvements in midwifery and neonatal intensive care can partly explain the overall fall in mortality rates. Figure 2. Infant Mortality Salford and England trend data 4

5 In response to concern about the rate of child death in Salford, a partnership group has been established to identify areas which should be addressed in order to ascertain whether current activity in Salford is appropriately targeted and proportionate. An over-arching aspect of the rates of death is the inequality and this increased risk of death is understood to involve a series of complex interactions between many factors, including genetics, the child s physical, social and economic environment and the health and care systems which surround families. The identification of modifiable risk factors is essential to driving down infant and child mortality rates. The overarching increase in risk due to poverty and inequalities is an important action for Salford City Council and the Salford partnership. The partnership has created an action plan that takes the issues and sets them in the Salford context. The action plan also includes area to address a range of risk factors which lead to an increased risk of premature births. A summary of these area include: Social Insight into smoking during pregnancy Maternal obesity Standardised PSHE education in Schools Late antenatal care Infection screening Universal antenatal parenting/understanding child development and risks Unintentional injuries and fall under 4s Poverty and inequalities/the role of housing providers KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: Not required EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS: Not required ASSESSMENT OF RISK: Not required LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Not required FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Not required PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Not required HR IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Not required OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: Not required 5

6 CONTACT OFFICER: David Herne TEL NO: WARDS TO WHICH REPORT RELATES: Not applicable 6