Nottingham’s Director of Public Health has spoken of her delight after partnership work across the city was recognised nationally.
A submission from Nottingham City Council has been shortlisted in the Public Health category of the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards 2023.
The entry, entitled ‘Public Health improvement through joint working with Place-based Partnership’, focuses on the city’s plan for residents’ health and wellbeing and also draws on how well various organisations worked together during the Covid pandemic.
This includes:
- how listening closely to communities can help address health inequalities and remove barriers to accessing services;
- what can be achieved through partnership working and focusing resource and effort on a shared goal;
- how public health-led prevention services can support improvements to people’s health and wellbeing.
The Council’s Public Health team used this learning to help shape the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy in a new way. At its heart is the belief that a person’s mental and physical health should get equal priority, while creating an environment where it’s easy for residents to make, and sustain, healthy life choices.
It was further agreed to focus on a smaller number of priorities, meaning that dedicated resources from a number of local partner agencies could be used in the most productive way.
These areas, identified following a wide-ranging public consultation supported by Nottingham Community & Voluntary Services (NCVS) and Healthwatch, are:
- Smoking and tobacco control
- Eating and moving for good health
- Severe multiple disadvantage
- Financial wellbeing
In Nottingham, the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) works closely with the city’s Place-based Partnership, a collaboration between local organisations responsible for both health and care services and improving general health and wellbeing.
Both exist to understand local need and work improve the health of the city’s population and reduce inequalities.
LGC judges have congratulated the Council on its successful submission and invited representatives to London in April to give a short presentation on the work being done in Nottingham. A final category winner will then be chosen and announced.
Lucy Hubber, Director of Public Health at Nottingham City Council, pictured, said: “I was delighted to be informed by LGC that we’ve been shortlisted for this prestigious award, which is recognition of the fantastic work being done in Nottingham by a number of organisations.
“We know that we have high levels of deprivation in the city and that people are really struggling at the moment in the midst of a national cost-of-living crisis. Unfortunately, this can often translate into poor health and we want to help our residents make the best choices so they can lead healthy and fulfilled lives.
“But this is very much a partnership approach with colleagues across the NHS and voluntary sector. The pandemic brought us even closer together with new and innovative ways of working, showing what can be achieved with a clear strategy and hard work.
“I now look forward to having the opportunity to explain to LGC judges in greater detail what’s happening in Nottingham and the difference that we can make to people’s health and wellbeing by working collaboratively.”