Have Your Say on a New Vision for a Healthier Reading

Residents are encouraged to have their say on the Council’s approach to achieving a healthier Reading over the next three years.

The Council is launching a nine week public consultation on Reading’s new Health and Wellbeing Strategy, starting on Monday 10^th October. Residents will be encouraged to have their say and feed into the development of a supporting action plan.

This is the second Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Reading. It builds on the first which ran from 2013-16 and takes into account national and local developments over the past three years.

The strategy sets out seven key priorities:

• Supporting people to make healthy lifestyle choices, with a focus on reducing obesity, increasing physical activity, reducing smoking and reducing tooth decay;
• Reducing loneliness and social isolation;
• Reducing the amount of alcohol people drink to safer levels;
• Promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in children and young people;
• Making Reading a place where people can live well with dementia;
• Increasing breast and bowel screening and prevention services;
• Reducing the number of people with tuberculosis.

The focus is firmly on prevention and in integrating health and social care through strong partnership working with organisations, individuals, communities, employers and public services.

The strategy places an emphasis on empowering people to take charge of their care and support and also highlights the importance of supporting carers in their vital role. The direction of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is underpinned by the Council’s recently refreshed Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), which presents national data alongside local information on health, social care and wellbeing needs.

The draft strategy has been co-produced following a period of stakeholder engagement with local partners, including those from the NHS, voluntary and community sectors.

Cllr Graeme Hoskin, Reading’s Lead Member for Health, is emphasising the importance of getting the strategy right and of involving individuals, groups and organisations in its development.

Cllr Hoskin said: “We have achieved a number of goals in our first Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Action Plan, and have made good progress towards improving health, reducing inequalities and achieving early intervention. However, there is still work to be done and we face many challenges in the future.

“In the face of unprecedented Government budget cuts, the Council is committed to ensuring locally we all work together so people receive the best possible healthcare support. We have to make some tough decisions about where limited resources will have the most impact. This is why getting the strategy right is so important, so we can target our dwindling resources where they will make the most difference.

“By consulting on our draft strategy, we want to bring more people into the conversation about health and wellbeing. We want our second Health and Wellbeing Strategy to describe our shared goals for Reading, and to include an action plan which has been developed with the people who will experience and deliver it.”

The consultation can be accessed at: www.reading.gov.uk/hwbstrategy

The full report can be viewed at http://www.reading.gov.uk/article/9603/Health-and-Wellbeing-Board-7-OCT-2016