David Thomas: Have your say on Torbay’s new Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Every week, this column gives me the chance to talk about the work we’re doing for Torbay – not just inside the council chamber but across our wider local system. 

This week, I want to focus on one of my other key roles. Alongside being leader of Torbay Council, I am also chair of our Torbay Health and Wellbeing Board.

The board has just launched a public consultation on our new Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and I genuinely want to encourage as many residents as possible to have their say.

Health and wellbeing isn’t something that sits with the council alone. Our Health and Wellbeing Board brings together a wide range of partners, including the NHS, Healthwatch, the police and the voluntary and community sector. 

The reason for that is simple: improving health outcomes is a shared responsibility, and it only works when organisations plan and act together.

Every Health and Wellbeing Board in the country is required to produce a strategy setting out how it intends to improve the health of its local population. These strategies are becoming even more important as the NHS moves forward with its 10 Year Plan and the development of neighbourhood health services. 

What we do locally needs to align with that national direction, but it also needs to reflect the very specific needs of Torbay.

Our new draft strategy is called “Our Healthy Neighbourhoods” and at its heart is a straightforward but ambitious vision: healthy neighbourhoods where everyone can live, work and thrive.

We want to know whether you agree with that vision, whether you think we’ve identified the right priorities, and what else you think we should be doing to build healthier neighbourhoods across Torbay.

There is a lot to be proud of locally. Our health and care partners work extremely hard, often under significant pressure, to provide the best possible services within the resources available. 

I was particularly pleased that Torbay’s adult social care services received a “good” rating from the Care Quality Commission last month. That is recognition of the dedication and professionalism of staff across the system. We also have a long and well-established history of health and social care working closely together in Torbay, which many other areas look to with envy.

But we also need to be honest with ourselves. There are areas where outcomes are not as good as they should be, and where we need to do better – especially if we want to narrow the gaps in health between different communities. 

That means looking beyond traditional health and care services and taking a much wider view of what shapes our health and wellbeing day to day.

Things like housing quality, access to green spaces, transport, employment, education and the design of our neighbourhoods all have a huge impact on health. If we want to improve wellbeing, we need to address the bigger picture, not just what happens in GP surgeries or hospitals.

Torbay also faces some very real and distinctive challenges. We have an older population than the national average, with an average age of 49 compared to 40 across England. 

By 2033, around one in three of our residents is expected to be aged 65 or over. We also have a smaller working-age population than both England and the South West.

Life expectancy varies significantly between men and women, and between different wards in Torbay. 

Almost one in four residents has a health condition or disability that affects their ability to carry out everyday activities, with much higher rates in areas with lower incomes. These are not abstract statistics – they reflect real people and real lives.

The draft strategy looks closely at the factors that drive these outcomes, including deprivation, employment, school absence, levels of special educational needs and disabilities, reliance on adult social care, and the demands of a rapidly ageing population. 

It sets out actions that all partners should consider when designing services or developing new strategies, from tackling poverty and intervening early to support young people, to enabling people to live healthier, more independent lives for longer.

For the first year, the board has identified three priority areas it will sponsor directly:

• Healthy spaces for children and young people, supporting physical, mental and social wellbeing.
• Healthy work for working-age adults, particularly those off work due to ill-health or furthest from employment.
• Healthy ageing, with a focus on housing, transport and health for older residents.

This strategy will help shape decisions for years to come, so your voice really does matter. Please take the time to read it and complete the survey. You can do this online via the consultations section of the council website, or by picking up paper copies at Paignton, Torquay or Brixham libraries, or at Brixham Town Council.

Building healthy neighbourhoods is something we can only do together – and I’d really value your views.