Issue - meetings

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Performance and the Director of Public Health which recommended improved awareness and understanding of the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Southampton, and the principles upon which it is based, to support better decision-making related to health outcomes in the city.

Dr Debbie Chase, Director of Public Health; and Councillor Finn, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

·  The HDRC would give a better understanding of the impact of service delivery which would inform future decision making about services.

·  Early adopters of the scheme, such as Doncaster had found that within one year the HDRC had drawn in more grants and upskilled staff.

·  Southampton had already established a good partnership with the Council and both universities in the city.

·  The new Research and Development Hub included a Grants Officer who would look for opportunities for grant funding, so that the HDRC would be sustainable.

·  The HDRC would develop the infrastructure to focus on the community, what the people in the community want to see and understanding the real impact made by service delivery

·  The HDRC was a long term plan that would be established over five years

·  Coventry had used the Marmot City approach and all partners focussed on key building blocks in life and found that in a short period of time they had made a significant impact on deprivation levels across the city.

·  Mental Health and Wellbeing was a priority for the City and the strategy would focus on working more effectively with partners and investing in prevention to avert escalation and crisis.

·  The six priorities were developed in consultation with stakeholders and people with lived experience.

·  Every partner was critical to the delivery of a preventative approach, Mental health needs and waiting times had increased and a service solution was required to help support mental health issues and prevent them escalating.  This would be achieved through building up the evidence base to identify the impact of services on outcomes to improve understanding of the opportunity cost in resource allocation.

RESOLVED that a progress report on the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) and the Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy would be scheduled for June 2025.’