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 Improving services Health protection

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 MonthCare HomeHospitalNurseryOtherSchoolGrand Total April44 May22 June1113 August11 October11 November11 December112 January1113 February1113 March112 April11 Grand Total

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.