Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health

The Committee received a report on the Child Health Profile that was published in June.  The key findings for Gateshead were identified as;

·         Child poverty is significantly worse than the England average

·         Childhood obesity levels are similar to the England figures

·         Immunisation uptake is above the England average

·         Child mortality rates are similar to the England average

·         Although there has been a decrease in the number of hospital admissions as a result of self-harm for young people, Gateshead is still significantly worse than the England average

The report provided a list of indicators that have shown improvement in the last year and also those which have not improved and it was noted that any particular issues could be brought back to the Committee.

The performance in terms of immunisations in looked after children was queried. It was confirmed that there was a slight dip last year, however this was not an issue and figures remain in the high 80%. Although it was noted that, ideally, this should be above 95% for herd immunity.

It was questioned whether numbers of children on Education Health Care Plans are recorded within the Child Health Profile. It was confirmed that this is not recorded in the Child Health Profile, however it was suggested that it could be looked at as to how health correlates with those young people on Education Health Care Plans. It was also suggested that next time information around the number of young children having eye tests could be reported on and whether there are any risk assessments carried out in schools around the time children spend in front of computer screens.

Performance around self-harm figures was questioned.  It was acknowledged that the number in Gateshead is significantly worse than the national average, in Gateshead there were 179 admissions to hospital for self-harm, however this does not determine the actual number of young people involved. It was confirmed that this relates to ages 10-24 and a larger cohort for hospital admissions is 19 and above. It was also noted that there may be some young people self-harming but who are not admitted to hospital. It was reported that the LSCB is to roll out training in schools to help them support young people who are self-harming.

It was questioned whether female genital mutilation (FGM) is an issue in Gateshead. It was confirmed that there are no cases in children in Gateshead nor any national prosecutions. However, maternity services have reported some mothers who have suffered and they continue to be monitored. It was queried whether hospitals would know what to do if there was a case in Gateshead. It was noted that all frontline practitioners and schools have received training in this area, they have a duty to report any cases of female genital mutilation and procedures are in place.

The point was made that further information is needed around the redesign of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). It was confirmed that the ‘Expanding Minds Improving Lives’ project is ongoing and the CCG has paid for ongoing counsellor support in schools while the larger development of the service is going on.  Committee was advised that a report on CAMHS is scheduled on its work programme for 1 December 2016.