BLACKPOOL COUNCIL
REPORT
of the
HEAD OF LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
to
SANDHURST AREA PANEL
SANDHURST AREA FORUM MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 2010
Prior to the opening of the meeting the following ‘market place’ stands were available
and manned to provide information for residents: Alcohol/Stop Smoking Service, Lung
Health Checks, Health MOT, Link, Overview and Scrutiny.
1.
Introduction
The Chairman of the Area Forum, Gary Pretty and Richard Emmess, Director of
Partnerships, NHS Blackpool welcomed members of the community to the special
meeting of the Area Forum, a health roadshow presented by the NHS and entitled
Altogether Now.
2.
Context
The Area Panel, at its meeting held on 6th September 2010, had agreed that a single
item Forum meeting take place in November specifically to consider health issues and
to feed into the NHS’s consultation on the next phase of its three year plan.
3.
Theme
Altogether Now
The presentation commenced with Ian Treasure, Assistant Director of Partnerships,
NHS Blackpool, who explained that in 2009 Regional Health North West had wanted
more partners with health and sport and with the backing of Lord Coe had achieved its
aim including the bringing together of Blackpool Council and Football Club to drive the
initiative forward. There were four tangerine targets each with a sporting ambassador
as follows:




Physical Activity – Ian Holloway, Blackpool FC Manager
Lifestyle - Paralympian, Shelly Woods
Childhood Health – Steven Croft, Lancashire Cricketer
Mental Health and Wellbeing – Jimmy Armfield CBE, Local Football Legend
and the following eight health priorities had been identified:



Smoking
Heart Disease
Alcohol Abuse
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




Substance Misuse
Mental Health
Sexual Health
Childhood Obesity
Cancer
Judith Mills of NHS Blackpool stated that the aim of NHS Blackpool, over time, was to
improve life expectancy and the health and well being of the community and reduce
inequalities between the most deprived areas of Blackpool and the Blackpool average.
She provided residents with various statistics relating to the town and specifically to the
Sandhurst area and including causes of excess deaths in Blackpool and referred to
historic causes such as infection as compared to current lifestyle issues. Regarding life
expectancy at birth, Sandhurst did well compared to other areas of Blackpool.
She reported that Sandhurst had a higher than average population of over 50 year olds.
The area experienced average mortality rates but hospitalisations for heart disease
were high in Bispham and for liver disease in Norbreck. Key health risks were accidents
such as fractures, smoking, drinking, depression, cancer and surprisingly teenage
pregnancy.
Richard Emmess, Director of Partnerships, NHS Blackpool, conducted an interactive
voting system to enable residents to express their views on health priorities within their
communities. The following results emerged:
Do you think tackling smoking is a priority for your area?
25%
56%
13%
6%
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Do you think that tackling heart disease is a priority for your area?
62%
38%
-
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Do you think that tackling alcohol misuse is a priority for your area?
37%
42%
21%
-
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Do you think that addressing substance misuse issues in your area is a priority?
38%
25%
31%
6%
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
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Do you think that addressing mental health issues is a priority for your area?
29%
24%
47%
-
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Do you think it is a priority to address sexual health issues in your area?
18%
47%
35%
-
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Do you think that tackling childhood obesity is a priority for your area?
21%
42%
26%
11%
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Do you think that tackling cancer should be a priority in your area?
78%
17%
6%
-
strongly agree
tend to agree
tend to disagree
strongly disagree
Mr Emmess invited residents to use the cards provided to express any additional views
or comments they may have, indicating that the reports from the seven area forums
would be used to influence the Commissioning of their services. The final report would
be published on the NHS website but residents could request a paper copy or email if
they so wished.
4. Conclusion
The meeting had apprised residents of the Altogether Now initiative and the various
market stalls’ information and enabled the NHS to consult with them in relation to the
next phase of its three year plan.
Residents were thanked for their attendance and participation and were reminded that
the next meeting of Sandhurst Area Forum would take place on January 24th and the
theme would be the new Health and Leisure Centre at Moorpark and how it would
benefit local residents.
The meeting closed at 8.15pm.
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