Promoting health and wellbeing for all, supporting independent living and reducing health inequalities

Improving local services

Satisfaction with local health services has increased over the past two years. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI)* rated the Council’s Adult Social Care service as good overall, with some services receiving an excellent rating (the 2009 inspection outcome is awaited).

Increasing personalisation

A major programme of work to transform adult social care got underway in 2008. This will place personalisation at the heart of services, giving residents greater choice over what services they receive and how they receive them. The programme will also help the Council and our partners deliver better connected, more efficient services to older people and vulnerable adults.

Caring for carers

In 2008, the Council launched a new carers’ helpline and a carers’ card. The card gives additional borrowing rights at libraries and concessions at leisure centres, as well as discounts at local shops. The Council’s carers’ strategy and its re-enablement service, which supports people to live independently after a period in hospital, were commended by CSCI.

Increasing life chances

Deaths from the country’s biggest killers, lung disease and coronary heart disease, fell in Hackney. An award-winning new programme was introduced to reduce the number of child deaths. The Reducing Infant Mortality programme targets local services to support mothers whose babies may be at risk. This has led to more breast feeding, better attendance at antenatal classes, fewer emergency admissions for new babies, and fewer women referring themselves too soon to labour wards. Through the project, local mothers have also been trained to provide advice to pregnant women and to support women in the birthing suite.

Reducing teen pregnancy

Hackney’s Teenage Pregnancy Partnership continued its award-winning prevention work with young people. It provides targeted support, particularly for young women who have already been pregnant.

Projects in Hackney have reduced teen pregnancies by 26 per cent since 1998. This work has been recognised with two national awards over the past year: The Health and Inequalities Award at the NHS Health and Social Care Awards and the Sexual Health Service of the Year Award at Brook’s Exceptional Achievement Awards.

Promoting health and wellbeing

Last year, over two-thirds of Hackney’s schools achieved Healthy Schools status, through the national Healthy Schools initiative, which encourages schools to be creative in promoting the health and wellbeing of their pupils. The initiative was also extended through the Happy at Home programme, working with parents of pre-school children.

Sixty two women with arthritis who took part in a Hackney Tai Chi referral programme have found that as they become more active they have needed to visit their GP less often.

Nine community halls have had their kitchens refurbished in a project jointly commissioned by Hackney Council and NHS City and Hackney, as part of Hackney’s estatesbased approach to improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities. The work has been undertaken in partnership with Hackney Homes, local tenants and residents associations and the Shoreditch Trust.

The halls are places where a range of additional health and wellbeing initiatives will be provided, such as cook and eat classes, and volunteer training programmes. The project has met with a fantastic response so far with tenants and residents associations already holding healthy eating sessions and making plans for the future.

Many of these are generating exciting ideas about how to make best use of the kitchens for the benefit of local people.

Tackling child obesity

Tackling child obesity is one of the local priorities agreed by Team Hackney’s Children and Young People’s Partnership Board.

The Council and the PCT are working closely to make physical activities more accessible, to encourage the take-up of sports by young people and to encourage healthier eating.

‘Personal Bests’ is a youth sport project for 9-10 year olds. Last year, it ran in 26 primary schools across the five 2012 Host Boroughs, involving 300 children. They participated in athletics training sessions, completed interactive health workbooks and a personal lifestyle diary, learnt about the 2012 Games and kept a record of their own personal best performances. The borough finals will be held at Hackney Downs this summer.

One strand of this work has seen parents being encouraged to exercise with their children.

Another has seen fruit and vegetables being distributed to nurseries and schools. Dieticians have been provided in Children’s Centres to advise on healthy eating and lifestyles.

Support has been provided to overweight children and obese teenagers to help them to develop healthier lifestyles, whilst getting involved in fun activities which also help to build self esteem.

Helping residents become more active

All six of our leisure centres achieved Customer Service Excellence status and five were awarded Quest accreditation, the quality standard for sports and leisure facilities. Clissold Leisure Centre was recognised for its accessible facilities.

Hackney residents became more active too, with two in five now using sports and leisure facilities in the borough at least once a month.

The Council extended free swimming to all residents aged 60 and over, and 18 and under, all year round, at Kings Hall, Clissold and Britannia Leisure Centres. For the first time, last year over a million visits were made to our leisure centres.

Hackney residents cycle more than any other people in London. Hackney also has the highest level of cycling amongst residents aged 65 or over, almost double that of many other boroughs. Family Cycle Clubs are providing free, six-week, family-friendly cycle and maintenance training to residents. The scheme is run by the Council’s school travel plan team and STA Bikes, a local not-for-profit organisation. It won the award for Best Cycling Initiative for Young People or Children at the London Cycling Campaign Awards in November 2008 and, in its first year, benefited 432 residents, including 77 who had never cycled before.

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Page updated: 15 Jun 2010