Your Health Your Environment Sarah James Environmental Health Manager Watford Borough Council Sandra Hone Public Health Improvement Officer Welwyn Hatfield.

Your Health Your Environment

Sarah James

Environmental Health Manager

Watford Borough Council

Sandra Hone

Public Health Improvement Officer

Welwyn Hatfield Council

Jim’s aim:

“That we work together to turn an army of volunteers stakeholders and professionals across Hertfordshire into a health promoting army’’

Our aim:

You arrive as a member of your own discipline but leave as part of the public health army!

No pressure then!

Bringing the social model of health to the table

• Who is here?• Developing a better understanding about the

people around the table• Where are the links?• Developing a better understanding of the links

between our roles and the prevention of ill health• How do we work together for PH?• The value of sharing information• Working together to make a difference

Cross County or not ?

Prevention of ill health is everyone’s business - Only 20% of health is attributable to NHS services.

Getting started – whose here?

• On your table……

• Introduce yourselves, who are you what does your role involve?

• Looking at the wider determinants slide on the table, discuss where you fit in this social model .

Consequences*Lost health potential *Long standing illness

and disability *Premature death

Outcomes*Circulatory diseases

*Accidents *Cancers *Mental illnessCauses

*Smoking *Substance misuse *Poor diet *Lack of exercise *Sexual

practices*Risk taking behaviour

Causes of causes*Poverty *Unemployment *Housing

*Transport *Environment *Discrimination *Social exclusion

Pathways to poor health and inequalities

Environmental Health

• Food safety• Health and safety at work• Noise• Pest control• Pollution• Comment on planning consultations and license

applications• Work in partnership to prevent homelessness and illegal

eviction• Litter and environmental crime (dumped rubbish)• Housing enforcement – private sector rented HMOs

A property approach:

Repair the obvious defects and leave.

The person centered approach:

Who lives here?

How do the defects affect their health or safety?

Other agencies?

Leaking roof

Single glazed windows

Broken boiler

overcrowding

Dealing with the causes of the

causes of ill health

Excess coldLeaking roof

A wild scenario?

Where?

• Where are the links between our roles?

• Partnership working

You don’t need to eat the elephant all at once A toe nail will do .......

• Its too big • You may not have the whole picture• You don’t have any partners yet

• Starting small may provide good evidence for the way forward

• Other people may have already eaten their elephant can we learn from them? •Big game shooter may be outflanked by subtle local arrow.

January 31, 1983The law on seat belt wearing came into force.

drink driving 1967 legal limits

set

CHANGE

The public health jigsaw

• Information sharing

• Partnership working

• Risk taking

• Innovation

• Together better

• Working smarter

Activity

Consider the real life scenario on your table, as an army, how can you start to make a difference

together?

The scenario• Small town centre needs

redevelopment - former industrial site

• Delays due to financial pressures• Closed shops• Charity and £ shops opened• Too many fast food outlets

opened• Minor drug use and antisocial

behavior• Run down residential premises

above shops• Air quality management area • Poor lighting• Rubbish accumulations• Supportive and cohesive local

community• Low paid jobs and no affluence in

the community

Task

Using the skills and roles round the table:

1. Identify a couple of quick wins

2. Identify an achievable longer term partnership project

3. Identify who else needs to join your partnership

Coming together is a beginning;keeping together is progress; working together is success.Henry Ford

Thank you By the left….!

Sarah JamesEnvironmental Health Manager

Watford Borough Council

[email protected]

Sandra Hone Public Health Improvement Officer

Welwyn Hatfield Council

[email protected]