Table of contents

• Foreword.
• Introduction.
• Health inequalities.
• Torbay.
• Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
• Our Objectives and Priorities.
  • Priority 1 Good mental health.
  • Priority 2 A good start to life.
  • Priority 3 Supporting people with complex needs.
  • Priority 4 Healthy Ageing.
  • Priority 5 Digital inclusion and access.
• Cross-cutting areas
• Environmental sustainability.
• Physical activity.
• Good Housing.
• Reducing inequalities.
• Supporting carers.
• Increasing awareness and identification of domestic abuse and sexual violence and abuse.
• How the strategy was developed.
• How we will ensure delivery.
• How we will measure success.
• References

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Foreword

Local Authorities have a duty to produce a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy setting out priorities to address the needs of the population. They do this, in partnership with the NHS, through the Health and Wellbeing Board.

This draft Strategy has been prepared in collaboration with Health and Wellbeing Board partners over the last eight months.  The Strategy identifies 5 priorities areas, and 6 cross-cutting areas, which all member organisations feel are critically important for improving the health and wellbeing of Torbay residents. 

Importantly, this year we have worked closely with colleagues in the new Integrated Care System, and especially those in the South Devon and Torbay Local Care Partnership, to make sure our priorities are clearly aligned. 

The refreshed Torbay Joint Strategic Needs Assessment has also just been published. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment describes the health and wellbeing needs of our population, and the drivers that influence health and wellbeing, like housing, employment and education. 

This Health and Wellbeing Strategy responds to the areas of greatest need:

• children living in challenging circumstances and losing out on educational opportunities
• lack of high quality housing with secure tenure
• people living with poor mental health
• older people experiencing loneliness and isolation.

All of these needs have been exacerbated by the pandemic, and all of them hit our most disadvantaged communities the most. 

The draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy seeks to tackle these difficult issues through agencies working together to bring about real, sustainable change. 

The draft Strategy is being shared for public consultation from 4 April to 16 May 2022. We look forward to receiving your input. The consultation can be found on our website.

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Introduction

Healthy people are at the core of healthy societies. Yet health is more than just the absence of disease. The World Health Organisation defines health as

a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.

When it comes to health, accessible and high quality health care is important, but as little as 10% of a population’s health and wellbeing is linked to access to health care. Many other factors, such as the home and the community we live in, our environment, work, education and money, influence whether we are healthy and happy.  It is therefore crucial to address these and create an environment that enables people to be as healthy as they can.

The circumstances in which we live, our daily activities and our social lives affect our physical and mental health and wellbeing.  At the same time, having a physical illness or mental health problem can have a significant impact on our social and working lives and our wellbeing.

Everyone in our community should have the opportunity for good health and wellbeing. To increase the health and wellbeing of the people in Torbay we need to work across all sectors and organisations to address the factors that influence these. This Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy sets out our focus areas and key actions to improve lives in Torbay over the next four years.

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Health inequalities

Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people that arise because of the conditions in which we grow up and live, the environment or area we live in, the group we belong to or the opportunities we have to lead healthy lives[1].

The Marmot Review first described these differences in health outcomes between different sections of society in 2010 and found people living in the poorest neighbourhoods in England will die several years earlier than people living in the richest neighbourhoods. Poorer people will also spend more of their life living with disease or disability[2]. An update of the Marmot review in 2021 showed:

• Improvements in life expectancy stalled in the decade before the pandemic
• There are wide inequalities in health within and between different areas in the UK
• The health gap between wealthy and deprived populations has widened
• People are spending more of their lives living in poor health. [3]

As highlighted in the Chief Medical Officer for England’s Annual Report 2021, coastal communities include many of the most beautiful, vibrant and historically important places in the country. They also have some of the worst health outcomes in England, with low life expectancy and high rates of many major diseases.[4]

To tackle these inequalities, we need to ensure that we not only provide high quality and accessible health care, but that we take note of the factors contributing to good or poor health. This includes supporting people when they need help, making sure children have a good start in life and working towards a thriving society where people can live healthy and happy lives in an environment that supports health and is sustainable for future generations.

The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper, published in February 2022, emphasises the need to tackle the drivers of disparity and identifies as series of ‘levelling up missions’ centring around jobs, housing, skills, education, health, crime, community and wellbeing.[5]  These are reflected in the priority and underpinning areas of our Strategy.

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Torbay

Torbay offers a great quality of life for individuals and families, with a great natural environment on the English Riviera, a wide range of outdoor activities, excellent schools and a growing arts and cultural sector. But in common with other coastal communities, Torbay faces major challenges. Some of these are listed below.  For more detail consult Torbay Council’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment[6].

1. Our climate is changing. Torbay is projected to get warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers with more intense storms and rising sea levels. This will affect every area of our lives, from increased mould growth within homes during winter, to more deaths due to severe weather such as storms and heatwaves. We need to reduce our carbon footprint, our impact on the environment and plan for the effects of climate change and environmental breakdown that we cannot prevent.
2. Our population is ageing. As a popular retirement location, our population is older than the national average, with 26% of people over 65 years of age. This means we face increased challenges of ill-health, loneliness and frailty, with a high impact on health and social care. We also need to support our many carers, those family members and friends, who themselves support and ensure independence for our older population, many of whom are themselves older.
3. Inequalities are widening. There are communities with high levels of deprivation and poor housing in Torbay, with around 1 in 6 children growing up in relative poverty, and few opportunities for young people. Many people in Torbay’s tourism industry and care sector are employed on low wages. Many of these businesses have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has had a knock-on effect, worsening existing inequalities as the most deprived were hit hardest by the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
4. Residents are struggling with mental health problems. 1 in 8 adults in Torbay have depression, and we have a high rate of people who require long-term support for mental health problems. We have high rates of suicide, and self-harm, particularly among young adults. People with caring responsibilities are also at higher risk of mental health issues.
5. Children and young people experience increasing challenges. The rate of cared for children in Torbay is amongst the highest in England and many children and families require extra support. Around 1 in 6 children live in low-income households, above the England average. We also face challenges around children and young peoples’ physical and mental health, including high rates of overweight and obesity, high rates of tooth decay and high rates of self-harm in children and young people.
6. Poor housing and homelessness are consistent problems. Living in poor housing has a negative effect on both physical and mental health. 1 in 3 people in Torbay live in housing which is in poor condition, without central heating or overcrowded. Many people in Torbay struggle to pay their energy bills and may rent poor quality housing that is colder and more prone to damp. This has an impact on people’s health and wellbeing. Houses in the South West of England are expensive, and housing in Torbay is on average less affordable than in the rest of England. There is also an increasing number of rough sleepers in Torbay, and many homeless households living in emergency accommodation or staying with friends and family.
7. Economic health and individual health and wellbeing are inextricably linked. Employment is a key challenge in coastal communities and has multiple impacts on health. Analysis for the Health in Coastal Communities report shows that the unemployment and part-time employment rate is higher in coastal towns.  COVID-19 has had a significant impact on unemployment rates in coastal communities, partly due to a higher reliance on tourism.[7]  The Levelling Up White Paper similarly focuses on the connections between jobs, housing, education, health and wellbeing.[8]  We cannot tackle any one of these in isolation.   

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Health and Wellbeing Strategy

The Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy lays out the plan to improve the health and wellbeing of the population in Torbay between 2022 – 2026. Five focus areas and six cross cutting areas identify priorities for collective system action over the next four years. 

The Health and Wellbeing Board has selected priority areas that relate to all aspects of health and wellbeing, without duplicating existing work or losing focus by spreading efforts too widely.

The Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy provides a framework for the Health and Wellbeing Board to promote and monitor progress in the areas identified to be most important. It also provides a direction for the commissioning of services in other areas, and identifies medium and long-term goals. The goals outlined in the following sections of the strategy will provide a basis for the Health and Wellbeing Board to monitor progress on each priority area.

Our Objectives and Priorities

Our vision: to create a healthy, happy Torbay where individuals and communities can thrive.

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Priority 1 Good mental health

Why is this a priority?

Before the pandemic, Torbay residents generally reported positive wellbeing however almost one in four said they had high anxiety levels and one in five reported having a common mental disorder. Self-harm and suicide rates were significantly higher than the national average.

Since the start of the pandemic the situation has worsened. People now experience higher levels of anxiety and depression and people with an existing mental health diagnosis feel that their condition is worse. The pandemic led to people losing their jobs, debt, and them not being able to see friends and family, which has had an impact on people’s mental health and ability to cope. Levels of domestic abuse also increased, particularly during lockdowns.

Mental health problems also affect our children and young people. We have many children needing social, emotional, and mental health support and levels of self-harm among children and young people are high. Torbay has the second highest number of referrals to social care services in the region and the highest rates of cared for children. We also have a high number of young carers affected by an adult’s mental health, or whose own mental health is affected by their caring role.

While there are many examples of excellent community partnerships supporting mental health, pausing or cancellation of services during the pandemic has contributed to some people not getting the help they need in a timely manner, which also impacted on their family and carers.  

For all partners across Torbay, supporting the mental health of our staff, clients, patients, students, and communities is critically important.  It is a time of real need, but also a time of real opportunity. COVID-19 has sharpened our understanding of our mental wellbeing.  It has never been more evident that ‘mental health is everyone’s business’. Without good mental health, communities suffer. With good mental health, we all thrive.

What are our goals?

Torbay Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Alliance has agreed a number of goals that we will work towards in collaboration with partners across the system.

Every individual, child and family will:

• Receive person-centred support
• Receive the right level of support at the right time for them
• Be resilient and feel able to look after their mental health
• Feel safe and protected
• Have mental health issues identified and addressed early

We will all live in communities that:

• Empower us to talk about our mental health and wellbeing
• Nurture our mental health and wellbeing
• Connect us to friends, family and services
• Enable us to have a stable home, fulfilling employment and financial stability

To make this happen we will:

• Ensure mental health and wellbeing and suicide prevention remain a priority for strategic partners across Torbay and achievement of outcomes via the Health and Wellbeing Board
• Undertake a collaborative needs assessment into mental health and wellbeing, suicide and self-harm
• Drive continuous improvement in Children and Young People’s mental health outcomes through partnership working with families and communities. 
• Implement the Torbay suicide and self-harm prevention plan with the aim of stabilising and reducing rates of suicide and self-harm across the Bay
• Incorporate mental health and wellbeing into the Multiple Complex Needs alliance from 2022
• Support the creation of mental health promoting communities through community development, training, safe spaces and peer support 
• Promote and support workplace wellbeing in Torbay 
• Promote approaches which tackle physical and mental wellbeing together especially the use of physical activity and green spaces to improve wider health and wellbeing 
• Work with partners in the Community and Voluntary Sector and Health to ensure that community assets are in place and people are accessing them via a codesigned ‘front door’ to Adult Social Care.

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Priority 2 A good start to life

Why is this a priority

Getting a good start in life and throughout childhood, building resilience and getting maximum benefit from education are important markers for good health and wellbeing throughout life. The importance of supporting children in their early years and through adolescence has been widely recognised by the World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, and is part of the NHS Long Term Plan. The Levelling Up White Paper highlights the impact of education and skills, health and wellbeing, on the economic life and opportunity of the whole community.  Offering support to all children, adolescents and their families, as well as focussing on those who need help the most, reduces inequalities and improves health outcomes[9].

What are our goals?

• Ensuring families have access to the services they need
  • Seamless support for families: a joined up Start for Life offer available to all families.
  • A welcoming hub for families: Family Hubs as a place for families to access Start for Life services.
  • The information families need when they need it: designing online, in-person and telephone offers around the needs of the family.
• Ensuring the Start for Life system works together to give families the support they need
  • An empowered Start for Life workforce: developing a skilled workforce to meet the changing needs of families.
  • Continually improving the Start for Life offer: improving data, evaluation, outcomes and proportionate inspection.
  • Leadership for change: ensuring local and national accountability and building the economic case[10]

To make this happen we will:

We will work across four main areas to improve outcomes for children and families.

• Shift resources to sustain preventative early help services and expand our offer so that it covers the time from before birth up to the age of 25.
• Commission services jointly with the Clinical Commissioning Group and the Integrated Care System to ensure emotional health and wellbeing is prioritised by all partners.
• Improve our data collection and presentation, mapping inequalities and moving to monthly data flows. Outcomes will be regularly reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board.
• Implement the recommendations from the joint area inspection of Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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Priority 3  Supporting people with complex needs

Why is this a priority

People with multiple and complex needs often experience two or more problems such as homelessness, substance misuse, domestic abuse and mental ill-health at the same time and sometimes have contact with the criminal justice system. People whose lives are complex have historically either fallen through the gaps between services, so have been disconnected from the help and support that would make a difference to them or have found that when they have engaged with specific services, who have not been able to respond to their holistic needs. This problem has been made worse by a lack of available services or services not working well together. This results in many people with multiple, complex needs circulating through different services and systems without improvement in their lives but at a cost to them, their families, and the community.

What are our goals?

• We will improve the experiences and outcomes of people with complex problems in Torbay using a different approach to the way in which support is structured, delivered, and commissioned. Support offers will be not only aware of, but also responsive to, people’s needs, wishes and aspirations in their lives.

To make this happen we will:

• Commission a Multiple Complex Needs Alliance in 2022, with this becoming operational in 2023. This Alliance will deliver an integrated support offer for people who experience homelessness, substance misuse problems and domestic violence
• Develop a mental health offer as part of the Alliance delivery model.
• Introduce and develop trauma informed approaches across the system.
• Review our housing and support requirements to allow access to suitable accommodation.
• Work with the Innovation Unit to develop a Torbay-wide, shared understanding and definition of complexity; agree shared priority areas; and agree how to work together
• Establishing a Health and Wellbeing sub-group group to oversee and support the implementation of the partnership work that comes from the Torbay Innovation Unit workshops.

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Priority 4 Healthy Ageing

Why is this a priority

Torbay’s population includes an increasing number of people aged 50 and over with lived experience of health and wellbeing challenges. The need for health and care services is estimated to increase substantially in the future.  Torbay needs health and support services that maintain the health and independence of people in the community and take older citizens’ health and care needs and preferences into account.

Physical and mental wellbeing are closely connected and any programme to support healthy ageing needs to promote both together. 

There is also a need to understand and to tackle older people’s experiences of social isolation, discrimination and exclusion.

We need to work together with people of all ages to overcome these complex challenges and see this as an opportunity for engagement and learning about health and wellbeing for us all, right across the life course.

What are our goals?

Every individual:

• Understands the ageing process and is aware of ways for preventing and living with disease
• Is better informed about dying well as well as living well
• Has the opportunity to optimise brain ability and reduce the risk of dementia
• Is able to improve physical fitness and reduce their risk of injury from falling or from frailty
• Is respected for their life experiences; their abilities, choices and ambitions are acknowledged and supported
• Is treated with dignity in all healthcare services
• Is able to choose the level of support that will enable them to live independent and socially connected lives

To make this happen we will

• Challenge how people think about ageing, so that we all see ageing as a positive part of life and each stage as an opportunity for new, positive experiences
• Adopt a whole community approach inclusive of all ages and cultures in our work, and require the same of our partners
• Ensure health and care services are shaped by people with lived experience and from diverse backgrounds
• Enable trusted relationships that fully support peoples’ wellbeing and that of their carers
• Promote services that are accessible, inclusive, and based on good evidence
• Ensure support is targeted at prevention and is determined by need, not age
• Actively challenge discrimination
• Ensure that when care is needed it is accessible, compassionate and of high quality
• Enable the development of communities that support safe, healthy, active, independent, and socially connected intergenerational living
• Develop housing provision that is suitable and adaptable for people as they age, promoting independent living.

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Priority 5 Digital inclusion and access

Why is this a priority?

Digital technology and communication have transformed almost every aspect of people’s lives and has become central to how society works.  Being connected became more important during the Covid-19 pandemic when digital became people’s default way of keeping socially connected, accessing services, and maintaining cultural connections.  At the same time, this shift highlighted how a lack of digital skills and access can negatively impact on a person’s life. A person may struggle to access key services and may lose their voice and visibility in society.

Those who are digitally excluded often experience other disadvantages such as low-quality housing, lower educational achievement, social isolation, low income, and unemployment. Unsurprisingly, there is a link between digital exclusion, poor health outcomes and lower life expectancy. Given that many of those who are digitally excluded are high users for health and social care provisions, we need to ensure that people are either supported to engage with services digitally, or that people are offered in-person or telephone services.

The Levelling Up White Paper highlights how the pandemic demonstrated the importance of digital connections right across society, from ensuring business continuity to reducing social isolation, and sets out action required at national and local level to promote digital access and skills.

Any digital service offer must be designed to be as accessible and intuitive as possible to both access and use. User experience must be optimal so that the opportunities of digital health and social care can be fully realised.

What are our goals?

• Enable people to become digitally included by facilitating access to internet-enabled devices that meet people’s needs.
• Support people to improve their digital literacy.
• Increase the use of digital health and social care opportunities to realise the benefits for the individual as well as Torbay’s health and care system.
• Increase the opportunities for the utilisation of digital health and care and optimising accessibility.

To make this happen we will:

• Support the growth of a cross-sectoral Digital Inclusion Group to enable digital inclusion within Torbay.
• Support people to get online and use digital health and care resources.
• Incorporate digital inclusion and accessibility in the organisational strategic planning of the NHS and Torbay Council.

Cross-cutting areas

As well as our focus areas, we have identified six areas that cut across and should inform all of our work.

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Environmental sustainability

Why is this a cross cutting area?

Climate change is a public health emergency. As the global climate warms at an increasing rate, we see the effects of climate change being experienced by Torbay’s health and social care system. In the future, we will see more extreme weather events like heat waves and flooding, and warmer, wetter winters leading to mould in homes. Without radically reducing our carbon emissions and adapting to the changes we cannot prevent, these impacts are forecast to significantly worsen. While these changes will impact on everyone in Torbay, they will hit the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society hardest.

Torbay is well placed to become a leader and influencer of action against climate change. Torbay Council has a target to become carbon neutral by 2030 and the NHS, generally, has a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Key actions in Torbay are counting our carbon emissions, reducing direct emissions from our estates, our fleet of vehicles, sustainable decision-making in procurement of services and changing the way our workforces commute and operate.

The actions required to cut carbon emissions and adapt to climate change have significant co-benefits for health, such as increasing active travel, insulating homes, and ensuring our health and care services are resilient to extreme weather events.

Torbay is developing a climate partnership to help all stakeholders work together better. Engagement from health sector partners is crucial to further mobilise action, assist each other in doing more and deliver a carbon neutral future for Torbay whilst becoming more resilient to a changing climate.

Asks from other service areas:

• Include environmental sustainability as a key element in all policies
• Make environmental sustainability a factor in decision making in all new policies and procurement contracts. Potential contractors should highlight the actions they will take to cut carbon emissions in their service delivery and work towards providing sustainable services.

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Physical activity

Why is this a cross-cutting area?

Physical activity has a significant role to play both in physical health and in maintaining and improving mental health and wellbeing. 

Physical activity is also a key driver in helping to address the national and local obesity crisis. In Torbay many people are overweight or obese - 60% of the adults and 35% of school-aged children. 

Physical inactivity remains an issue of concern in Torbay - one in five adults and one in four young people are not doing the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity per day. People from lower-income families are most affected, with lower rates of physical activity and higher rates of obesity and overweight.

Increasing physical activity in Torbay will not only increase wellbeing, but also reduce demand for local health and care services, and there is still more work to be done.

Ask from other service areas

• Explore how physical activity can be included into your area of work/service
• Work with us to produce our Torbay on the Move Strategy to ensure that our vision for physical activity is a collective vision across the Council and our Community
• Share insight and intelligence so our Strategy is well-informed

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Good Housing

Why is this a cross-cutting area?

Where we live has a big impact on our health. A house is more than a roof over our heads – it is what we call home, it is where we grow up and socialise. One in five homes in the UK do not meet decent housing standards. In Torbay, that figure is even higher with one in three people living in poor housing conditions. Fuel poverty, damp, overcrowding and homelessness are major challenges we face. While exact numbers for Torbay are not available, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have exacerbated the situation, with South West housing prices rising sharply during the pandemic and the most deprived parts of the population having been hit the hardest by the economic impacts of the pandemic. Wetter winters due to climate change will exacerbate this problem even further, with increased mould growth adding to the problem in the coming decade.

The Levelling Up White Paper highlights poor quality housing, overcrowding, and an over-reliance on temporary accommodation for vulnerable families as a key contributor to poor health and quality of life, and a key priority for action at national and local level. 

Partnership working across the system will be required to tackle this problem. We can gain a lot through offering safe, healthy housing. Good housing contributes to health and wellbeing and helps keep people healthy. Every £1 invested delivers nearly £2 of benefit through costs avoided to public services including care, health and crime costs.

Ask from other service areas

• Consider the housing implications and opportunities when developing new policies
• Work with the Council to develop a system wide housing strategy

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Reducing inequalities

Why is this a cross-cutting area?

Health inequalities describe differences in the opportunities that people have to lead healthy lives. Health inequalities do not only exist in life expectancy, but also in access to and availability of care, behaviours that impact health and social determinants of health such as housing. Due to the impact of inequalities on health outcomes, reducing inequalities is an important goal in the NHS Long Term Plan, and should be a key aim of any public health policy in Torbay.  

In Torbay, we have very affluent areas, but also quite deprived areas that struggle with poor housing, poverty, insecure jobs, low wages. Inequalities have also worsened during the pandemic, meaning that this is now more important than ever.

Ask from other service areas

• Every time a service changes a quality and equality impact assessment should be completed
• All employees should be trained to recognise the needs of minority and ethnic groups
• Introduce a Rural Proofing for Health Toolkit into the service delivery of local health and care systems
• Ensure that digital care pathways are developed in ways which increase inclusion

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Supporting carers

Why is this a cross-cutting area?

One in eight people in Torbay cares for a friend or family member who cannot manage without them, due to a health or age-related condition, disability, drug/alcohol or mental health concern has caring responsibilities. Caring can have a significant impact on people’s mental and physical health - three quarters of carers report that caring impacts their mental health and more than half report caring is impacting their physical health. Loneliness and social isolation are also key concerns for carers. Many working-age Carers either reduce their hours, give up work due to caring or find it difficult returning to the job market after caring, thus impacting on the local economy as well as their family’s financial situation.

There is a wide range of support available for carers of all ages, however a major challenge is identifying people with caring responsibilities as many people do not self-identify as carers and therefore do not access help and support. Young Carers are often bullied, impacting their mental health and wellbeing as well as their academic attendance and attainment[11].

Caring, with its impact on someone’s, health, wellbeing and finances, is a key factor determining how healthy we are[12].

Asks from other service areas

• All of Torbay’s health and social care organisations formally sign up to the Devon-wide Commitment to Carers
• Proactively identify Carers, including Young Carers and Carers in the workforce, through incorporating questions about caring responsibilities on existing proformas and processes in services across the system so that Carers can be linked in with existing support programs
• Report the number of Carers from above on a quarterly basis to the Carers Strategy Steering Group.
• Set targets for identifying carers for health and care services.
• For all other Torbay organisations to become ‘Carer-friendly’ by working with Carers Services to become ‘Carer-friendly Employers’ or offering support / discounts etc as part of ‘Carer Friendly Torbay’

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Increasing awareness and identification of domestic abuse and sexual violence and abuse

Why is this a cross-cutting area?

Domestic abuse and sexual violence refers to any controlling, coercive, threatening or degrading and violent behaviour. Domestic abuse and sexual violence are very common problems which have worsened during the pandemic, when people spent more time at home. People have often felt unsafe isolating in a house with an abusive person, and isolated from their support networks.

Asks from other services

• Provide training on domestic abuse and sexual violence for all health and care services in Torbay and use a trauma-informed approach in all services[13]
• Increase the offer and confidence within communities to respond to domestic abuse and sexual violence that builds community capacity and encourages a thriving, high quality voluntary sector.
• Continue to work across the partnership and communities so that the longer-term impact of abuse is understood and strive to provide longer term capacity where there may still be difficulties (such as financial hardship, issues over child contact, insecure immigration status).
• Support those who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual violence to become actively involved in the agenda at a time that is right for them.

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How the strategy was developed

Torbay’s Joint Health and Wellbeing strategy is led by the Torbay Health and Wellbeing Board; the strategy development was coordinated by the Public Health team. Work priorities were decided by the Council and partners in two workshops, and outcomes to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in Torbay were agreed. The strategy builds on the Torbay Local Plan[14] and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment[15], as well as workplans and strategic documents of the different working groups within the Council. The strategy will be refined through online consultation with the public April - May 2022.  Key stakeholders have been engaged throughout the process.

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How we will ensure delivery

The goals and actions laid out in Torbay’s Health and Wellbeing strategy will be delivered by Torbay Council, constituent members of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board and partners, in accordance with the table below.

The Health and Wellbeing Board has agreed ‘areas of focus’, ‘areas to sponsor’ and ‘areas to watch’.  Areas of focus match the focus areas of the Strategy.  These are where the Board will take a more active direction and oversight of delivery.  Areas to sponsor and watch are the underpinning areas where the Board is not the lead for delivery but requires assurance from partners that progress is on track.   

For each area of focus there is a lead strategic group who will oversee delivery.  There will also be an annual delivery plan sitting beneath the Strategy, defining actions year on year.

Focus areas

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How we will measure success

To ensure we achieve our aims in the agreed priority areas, an outcomes framework will set out the indicators and measures against which progress will be measured.  Progress reports will be presented at the quarterly Health and Wellbeing Board meetings. In addition to this, the Health and Wellbeing Board will hold a spotlight session on each work area to examine progress in more detail through the year.

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References

[1] Health inequalities in a nutshell | The King's Fund (kingsfund.org.uk)

[2] Fair society, healthy lives : the Marmot Review : strategic review of health inequalities in England post-2010. - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[3] Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 Years On - IHE (instituteofhealthequity.org)

[4] Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2021, Health in Coastal Communities, Available at: Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2021: health in coastal communities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[5] Levelling up in the United Kingdom White Paper (HM Government) February 2022 Levelling Up the United Kingdomr (publishing.service.gov.uk)

[6] Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Torbay 2020-2021

[7] [7] Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2021, Health in Coastal Communities, Available at: Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2021: health in coastal communities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[8] Levelling up in the United Kingdom White Paper (HM Government) February 2022 Levelling Up the United Kingdomr (publishing.service.gov.uk)

[9] PHE (2018), Best start in life and beyond: Improving public health outcomes for children, young people and families. Commissioning Guide 1: Background information on commissioning and service model

[10] Department of Health and Social Care (2021) The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days

[11] Carers update Appendix 3.pdf (torbay.gov.uk)

[12] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/caring-as-a-social-determinant-of-health-review-of-evidence

[14] Local Plan 2012-2030 - Torbay Council

[15] https://www.torbay.gov.uk/DemocraticServices/documents/s99114/JSNA Landscape_Final.pdf#:~:text=JSNA 2020 Background A Joint Strategic Needs Assessment,community. The JSNA helps local leaders to work