news@wcfh July 2006 Towards a step change in the health of the people of Issue 5 Wales Interview with Deputy Chair, Hugh Thomas CBE KStJ DL Inside this issue: Hugh Thomas, Deputy Chair of WCfH, has had a Interview with 1 distinguished 40-year career in local government followed Deputy Chair, by 10 years in the NHS, first as Chairman of a Hugh Thomas Commissioning Authority and then as Chairman of the 2nd Hot Topic: 1 Swansea NHS Trust. Childhood Food & Fitness Following his retirement in 1995 as County Clerk and Chief Executive of Mid Glamorgan Local Authority, the Secretary WCfH Hosts APHO 2 of State appointed him as Chairman of the Residuary Body Meeting for Wales in the wake of the local government re- organisation. This year he assumed the Presidency of the Court of the WCfH at The 2 National Eisteddfod, having already served as the Chairman of its Council Royal Welsh Show and Honorary Secretary for 25 years. His links with Higher Education are Project Focus: GP 3 very strong having been Deputy Chairman of the University of Glamorgan, Desk Aid and he now serves on the Council of Cardiff University and its Audit Committee. Network Update: 3 Hugh was elected Deputy Chair of the WCfH Board in April 2005, and deems it a privilege to be of further service in the health sector. “Having spent the European Update 3 last 10 years in the Health Service, I felt that my knowledge and experience coupled with my long career in local government could make a valuable Charity Begins at 4 contribution to the WCfH leading the way in ‘joined-up’ working in Wales Work and being the catalyst for new partnerships.” News & Events 5 More recently, Hugh was installed as the Prior for Wales of the Order of St. John overseeing the work of the charity in Wales. He has also been Contacts 6 appointed the Honorary Counsel of Japan in Wales since 1996. Copies of the booklet On the WCfH’s future direction, Hugh is very positive: “The current can be downloaded at: Functionalities Review of the agencies of the Welsh Assembly Government— http:// including the WCfH— is a very important initiative, as I believe the outcome www.wales.nhs.uk/ will promote more effective services for the community cutting out sites3/docmetadata.cfm? unnecessary duplication. The WCfH has an important ‘hub role’ to play in orgId=568&id=59539 bringing together organisations with a common agenda and I am confident that the Review Panel will acknowledge how much the WCfH has achieved in its first statutory year of existence.” 2nd Hot Topic: Childhood Food & Fitness We recently continued our Hot Topics series with a publication aimed at parents of 7-11 year olds. The bilingual booklet entitled ‘Is It Really Just Puppy Fat?’ (see picture right) was sent to every primary school in Wales in June in order to inform parents about the dangers of childhood obesity and the benefits of regular exercise. To complement the booklet, a workshop on news@wcfh 1 news@wcfh Issue 5 continued engaging with parents was held at the Welsh Assembly Government’s conference on Food & Nutrition in Young People on 29th June. This was a great success and the feedback gathered has proved invaluable to informing future work around community engagement. Contact Anne Fallows on 029 2022 7744 or [email protected] for more information. WCfH Hosts APHO Meeting The WCfH hosted the meeting of the Directors of the Association of Public Health Observatories of the United Kingdom and Ireland (APHO) on 18th July in Cardiff. APHO is comprised of leading Health Intelligence organisations in the nine regions of England, the Scottish Public Health Observatories, All Ireland Public Health Observatory (Inishpho) in the Irish Institute of Public Health and the Wales Centre for Health's Information and Intelligence Team. The meeting discussed national and international policy around health intelligence and analysis. It was decided on the day that WCfH will produce, in collaboration with its partners, publications comparing health in Wales with other parts of the APHO network. This will help to drive forward health improvement work in Wales. For more information see www.apho.org.uk or contact Neil Riley at WCfH on 029 2022 7744 or [email protected] WCfH at The Royal Welsh Show 2006 Lynnette Thomas, Head of Partnerships & Communication at WCfH, was invited to take part in a ‘round table’ presentation with the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) on the first day of The Royal Welsh Show (24th July) at Builth Wells. Other speakers included the Chair of CCW, John Lloyd-Jones, and Ceri Daugherty, CCW Health Policy Officer. New findings from a CCW survey on the links between health and the environment were discussed during this presentation, and questions and comments from the public were welcomed. The survey’s findings will be used to develop CCW policy which in turn informs the Welsh Assembly Government’s Well-being in Wales Strategy. To carry out the survey, seven focus groups were held formed of Welsh residents of all ages from urban and rural settings, varying socio-economic backgrounds and different fitness levels. The survey’s main findings showed that people feel better in the countryside and that although there is only a marginal relationship between health and the natural environment, the association with wellbeing is strong. The WCfH the CCW signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2006, in order to further develop mutual work on health and the environment, such as the proposed ‘Nature—A Pathway to Health & Wellbeing’ initiative. Partnership working with the CCW on the natural environment and health is useful for sharing expertise in order to address issues that are cross-cutting such as obesity and physical inactivity. People travel across the globe to benefit from the natural environment in Wales, yet many local people do not take advantage of this. We have a wonderfully rich resource in our natural environment and some of the worst health in Europe. That alone is incentive enough to work together in partnership. The full report, ‘Understanding Public Attitudes & Beliefs Concerning the Relationship Between Health & the Environment’, is available from the CCW Enquiry Unit on 0845 1306 229 or email [email protected] news@wcfh 2 news@wcfh Issue 5 continued Project Focus: GP Desk Aid Many myths about back pain — such as bed rest being the best treatment — “The Desk Aid is being are ingrained in our culture today. As Incapacity Benefit expenditure on non- developed with GPs specific back pain rockets, the Welsh Assembly Government are preparing to and other health launch a public health information campaign to educate people on the professionals, meaning management and treatment of back pain. we are working together to communicate better As part of the Welsh Backs initiative, the WCfH is developing a GP Desk Aid health messages to the designed to ensure clear and consistent messages are getting to the public, people of Wales. We thus bringing about a positive change in the perception of treatments for will all experience back pain. The Steering Group includes colleagues from the NPHS, Cardiff some non-specific University and the Welsh Assembly Government. lower back pain in our lives, and the most In August, the WCfH will be piloting the Desk Aid in selected GP surgeries simple message we can across Wales, evaluating its format and design. Feedback so far has been give is to STAY very positive and the final GP Desk Aid will be launched in September. ACTIVE.” Kelly Mason, Lead Contact Kelly Mason on 029 2022 7744 or [email protected] for Officer, Training & more information. Education, WCfH Network Update: All Wales Sexual Health Network The All Wales Sexual Health Network held their conference on improving access to sexual health services in Cardiff on 27 June. The conference was a complete success, with over 100 delegates attending from the Voluntary Sector, Youth Services, Academia, and various LHBs and NHS Trusts across Wales. Speakers included Dr Caroline Scherf (Llandough Hospital), Dr Marion Lyons (Director of the Sexual Health Programme for the NPHS) and Stefan Sanchez (Head of Sexual Health Promotion, Welsh Assembly Government) who gave the keynote address on how health organisations can play a part in making sexual health information available to all. The All Wales Sexual Health Network is currently developing themes for its next conference in Autumn/Winter 2006. Contact Anna Morgan on 029 2022 7744 or [email protected] for more information. European Update WCfH is part of EuroHealthNet – a network of European public health agencies working together to communicate health information to key stakeholders and share best practice. The WCfH is at the cutting edge of advancements in European health policy. We monitor international health trends and undertake many research projects with our European partners. Commission priorities for food safety and public health in 2007: The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs exposed the Commission’s priorities for food safety and public health for 2007 to the European Parliament in June. In the field of public health issues, the Commission will: • prepare proposals for a community framework for safe, high quality and efficient health services; • with regard to health threats, the Commission will seek to establish a Health Emergency Operations Facility to allow effective coordination of surveillance and early warnings. news@wcfh 3 news@wcfh Issue 5 continued (Continued form page 3) The Commissioner also confirmed the three broad objectives of the modified public health programme which are to improve the citizen’s health security, to promote health for prosperity and solidarity and to generate and disseminate health knowledge.