Health and wellbeing

Herefordshire joint local health and wellbeing strategy 2023-2033

The health and wellbeing strategy sets out how the council and its local partners plan to address the health and wellbeing needs of its population and as such, is a key document that is jointly owned and one that promotes collective action to meet those needs.

The Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB) is made up of members that represent the organisations responsible for improving health and wellbeing in Herefordshire. They include elected councillors, representatives from local NHS organisations, including the Integrated Care Board (ICB), Primary Care Networks and Wye Valley Trust, Healthwatch, the local voluntary and community sector, West Mercia Police and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.

The HWBS was developed over several months during which time information was gathered and consultation took place with partners and the public to gain insight into the issues facing Herefordshire residents and how we could best improve health and wellbeing. The health and wellbeing strategy engagement report details the engagement activities and responses.

You can also view an Easy Read version of the health and wellbeing strategy.

Our vision is:

"Good health and wellbeing for everyone."

Good health and wellbeing is fundamental for individuals and communities to be happy and healthy, providing the foundations to prosperous societies. The world around us shapes our health and the wellbeing of society overall – from quality homes that are warm and safe, to stable jobs, clean air, neighbourhoods with green space, and social connections. All of these things impact our health and how long we live and are the building blocks of health, collectively described as the wider determinants. These are not distributed equally in society, leading to differences in outcomes, such as how long we live.

The intention is that this strategy will be an effective, living document and one that over the course of its 10 year lifetime is able to steer a course towards consistent improvement in the wellbeing of Herefordshire residents. At the heart of enabling this to happen are some key principles that will underpin our actions:

• A strong focus on prevention and early intervention which are critical to the long-term sustainability of our health and wellbeing system and are an investment in the future economically, morally and socially
• A 'community paradigm' approach, meaning that we will work with our communities to involve them, listen to them and allow them to become part of the solution
• Tackling health inequalities is core to improving access to services, health outcomes and improving the quality of services and the experiences of people
• Better workforce planning will support joined up services and a more effective mix of staff skills will enable us to meet the challenges of the future
• An integrated way of working, joining up the range of health and social care services and relevant community partners
• Using the best available evidence from research and the community voice to inform decision making
• All programmes will be monitored and evaluated with a focus on ensuring that successes can be built into 'business as usual' practice

Core and supporting priorities

Having taken into account the views and comments from residents and partners and what we know about the issues from our Herefordshire data, the central focus of the strategy at the beginning of this ten year period will be:

• Best start in life for children
• Good mental wellbeing throughout life

In addition to these core priorities, we have identified a further six supporting priorities recognising that they are also critically important in how they affect our broader wellbeing, but that they also support and contribute towards giving children the best start, as well as the development and retention of good mental health.

All of the six supporting priorities have a role in reducing inequalities by addressing the wider issues that affect health, including housing, employment, and crime. These are:

• Support people to live and age well
• Improve access to local services
• Good work for everyone
• Support those with complex vulnerabilities
• Reduce our carbon footprint
• Improve housing and homelessness

Delivering the strategy

Delivering the changes identified in the strategy will challenge us all and will require a whole system approach that brings partners, communities and individuals together toward a common purpose.

The Health and Wellbeing Board will maintain strategic oversight of the strategy, with One Herefordshire Partnership monitoring progress against the outcomes identified.

Health and Wellbeing Board members will act as champions for the areas for collective action across Herefordshire.

Delivery plans will be developed for each of the two priorities co-produced with partners, communities and those with lived experience, together with a dashboard that will be subject to monitoring and review.

While the strategy focuses on two core priorities, its scope is wide and delivery will be flexible and responsive as we increase our knowledge and evidence base.

The strategy will therefore be updated and refreshed accordingly, to ensure that the Herefordshire system continues to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.