The Importance of Public Health for you and your residents.

Public Health Department Wolverhampton City Council

Public Health

• Public health is about improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of the general population

• The new Health and Social Care Act 2012 transferred public health responsibilities over to Local Authorities as of April 2013

• Local Authorities now receive a ring fenced Public Health Grant intended to be spent on improving the health and wellbeing of their local population.

3 key domains of public health

Health Improvement

• Promotion of healthy lifestyles is key to supporting elderly people to live a healthier and better quality of life

• Nutritional standards have to be met• Physical activity, including chair based

exercises, promotes physical and mental health, as well as reducing the risk of falls

• Quitting smoking is of benefit to all.

Improving Services:Falls Prevention

• Public Health, in conjunction with CCG and RWT Falls Prevention Service, are developing a falls prevention strategy

• Wolverhampton performs well on falls, except for hip fractures in those over 80yrs old

• We recognise there is a need to do more to support homes with preventing falls, and those who have had a fall.

Falls Prevention Continued……..• High number of A & E Admissions of elderly

people following a fall in a Care / Nursing home

• Falls Services are currently not commissioned to support Care / Nursing homes – collaborative commissioning will explore ways of addressing this

Health Protection

Fact!

Between April 2013 – April 2014 Public Health England noted that 61% of all suspected and confirmed norovirus cases reported for Wolverhampton were from a Care Home setting

Wolverhampton April 2013 – April 2014

Month Care Home Hospital Nursery Other School Grand Total

April 4 4

May 2 2

June 1 1 1 3

August 1 1

October 1 1

November 1 1

December 1 1 2

January 1 1 1 3

February 1 1 1 3

March 1 1 2

April 1 1

Grand Total 14 4 1 1 3 23

What can you do?• Ensure your residents and staff are vaccinated

against seasonal flu outbreaks and pneumoccocal if appropriate

• Ensure staff are vaccinated against blood borne viruses – Hepatitis etc.

• Support awareness campaigns amongst staff , visitors and residents (where possible) to improve infection prevention practices.

• Act quickly when a suspected outbreak / transmission occurs

What you can do continued…..

• Inform PHE/ commissioners / Infection Prevention team

• Continue to sign up to the Wolverhampton PREVENT charter on infection prevention and control

• Continue to monitor trends in cases of infection via your KPI’s and seek advice from Infection prevention team and /or PHE as appropriate .