Agenda item

Report of Director of Public Health.

The Board received a report of the Director of Public Health, concerning the approval of the City & Hackney Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy, Action Plan and Consultation Report. Following an introduction of the report, Members of the Board asked questions and made comments, which are detailed below.

The Chairman thanked officers and commended the ambition and commitment to co-production. It was commented that advocating for more national investment was crucial. Some services were funded from the City & Hackney public health grant, and some services were commissioned directly by the NHS. The City of London has a high level of need, and there needed to be more work on education, prevention, and use of online services. This would require more investment at a national level.  

Members of the Board queried whether there was difficulty in determining whether access to services was made by workers or residents within the City of London. The Board heard that the City of London had higher rates in comparison to the rest of the country in terms of access to sexual health services, and an a-typical population. There was evidence that sexual health providers were not following the correct guidance when asking for a patient’s address, which made it difficult to determine whether the patient was a resident or worker. There had been communications to providers, in order to improve the understanding of the need for sexual health services within the City.

Members of the Board asked questions with regards to managing the success of the action plan. The response was that officers had developed the strategy and action plan alongside each other. A sub-working group would agree responsibilities and outcomes of the action plan and would formally manage it in order to assist with working together with partners. A member requested an interim update report on the action plan be brought to the Board after six months, in addition to the annual update of the action plan and progress report.

Lastly, the Board heard that sexual assault referral centres (SARC) were known as Havens. There had been some staffing challenges and difficulty reinstating services following the Covid-19 lockdowns. Officers were keen to ensure there was greater public and professional awareness of when and how these services were accessed, and the action plan had specific actions to raise awareness of Havens. Havens were accessed by both referral and walk-ins, with the City of London and Met Police being a major source of referrals. NHS England, who commissioned the Havens, were looking to bring different Havens into a central London location with parking spaces for Police who may make the referral. Having a joined up approach would have an impact on the outcome and experience when using these services.

RESOLVED – That the Health and Wellbeing Board:

(i)             Note the consultation report;

(ii)            Reviewed and approved the revised strategy;

(iii)           Reviewed and approved the first year action plan with an interim report at six months on progress to come to the Health and Wellbeing Board;

(iv)           Confirmed setting up of a sub group of the Health and Wellbeing Board for the sexual and reproductive health strategy implementation group and annual reporting to the Board.