Public Health

What is Public Health?

Public Health is concerned with improving the health and wellbeing of local populations rather than treating diseases. 

What does Public Health do?

Public Health will:

• commission local services within the East Riding to assist residents in living healthier lifestyles and thereby reduce their risk of long-term illness and premature death. Services will include smoking cessation, health trainers, drug and alcohol misuse service, supporting mothers to breastfeed, school nursing, increasing levels of physical activity in the local population, mental health improvement and assessment of health needs.
  
  These can be searched for on the East Riding Health and Wellbeing website:
  
  East Riding Health and Wellbeing (external council website)
  
  
• carry out a programme of health need assessment as part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment to uncover trends in health needs as well as explaining health and wellbeing inequalities within the East Riding.  Behaviour change services and risk prevention programmes will be commissioned to target those areas with the greatest inequalities.
• commission health checks for East Riding residents aged 40 to 74 to test for vascular risk factors, then direct residents into the appropriate lifestyle support programme (starting with those areas with highest levels of ill health).
• commission comprehensive sexual health services (including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, contraception outside of the GP contract and sexual health promotion and disease prevention)
• advise other council directorates and services on how to adapt council service to make the healthy lifestyle option the easy option for East Riding residents eg smoke-free public places, breastfeeding-friendly venues, easy access to advice on healthy lifestyles, identifying vulnerable groups.
• assess the health of East Riding children through the JSNA and child height and weight measurement programme. Develop a range of lifestyle support programmes to help children and their families in adopting healthier lifestyles.
• support, review and challenge delivery of key public health funded and NHS delivered services such as immunisation and screening programmes. Advising the East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group on health care needs assessment and support the development of improved clinical pathways for East Riding residents.

How does Public Health use your data?

Please see the privacy notice for public health services.

What resources will Public Health have?

Resources used by the council and partners to improve health, wellbeing, and independence are considerable and include the great majority of health and social care spending. Certain specific budgets such as the Public Health Grant are used for specific functions within the overall total. 

Are there any performance measures associated with Public Health?

The Public Health Outcomes Framework sets out a vision for public health, desired outcomes and the indicators that will help us understand how well public health is being improved and protected.

The framework concentrates on two high-level outcomes to be achieved across the public health system, and groups further indicators into four ‘domains’ that cover the full spectrum of public health. The outcomes reflect a focus not only on how long people live but on how well they live at all stages of life. 

The high-level outcomes are as follows:

• Healthy life expectancy
• Differences in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy between communities.

The four domains are as follows:

• Improving the wider determinants of health
• Health improvement
• Health Protection
• Heath-care public health and preventing premature mortality.

What monitoring arrangements are in place with regard to Public Health?

The performance of public health programmes, monitoring of public health contracts and measurement of impact on local public health outcomes will be reported to the Strategic Public Health Group which will itself report to the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Who do I contact regarding a disease outbreakor infection control issue?

Notifications/concerns about disease outbreaks or infection control issues should be directed to Public Health England (PHE), details below: 

Public Health England
North Yorkshire and Humber Team
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ.

Tel: 01904 687100