Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Director of Public Health for County Durham that presented the Annual Report for 2019 (for copy see file of Minutes).

The Director of Public Health gave a detailed presentation on the Annual Report that focused on the following:-

·        Health and wellbeing across County Durham

·        Where we live, our services and our communities

·        Our priorities and progress towards them

·        Mental health at scale

·        Healthy workforce

The Director of Public Health reminded the Committee of the fictional family ‘the Taylors’ and how the priorities and progress had affected them and the benefits of this.

The Director of Public Health agreed to come back to a future meeting to update on progress and commented that next years report would focus on the ‘Best Start in Life’ and ensuring people had good jobs.

Councillor Bell asked if there were any underlying reasons regarding the increase in SEN numbers and the Director of Public Health advised that a piece of work was almost complete on this issue and would cover the reasons for the increase and the diagnosis.  She would bring a report to a future meeting.

Councillor Grant welcomed the report however was concerned about the mental health figures especially the statistic that 1 in 10 children have a mental health disorder.  She felt that everything needed a label and there was a danger that everyone with some form of mental health problem were being clubbed together.  She accepted that there were periods in most people’s lives that would trigger some sort of mental health problem but it could just be temporary.   The Director of Public Health explained that it was a real challenge and that we tended to highlight the bad rather than the good things that happen in life.  She took on board these points for future reporting.

The Chair was pleased to see that people were now recognising mental health as a real problem and treating as a priority.  He did appreciate that the figures covered everyone, from people suffering with anxiety and those who had autism and learning disabilities.

The Director of Public Health said that it was recognised that regardless of whether a symptom was long or short term that it was important to build in resilience and recognise triggers. 

In response to a question from Mrs Hassoon, the Director of Public Health advised that each child has an individual plan to meet their needs.

Resolved:

That the report be received.