Report of the Director of Public Health

This report gives an overview of how the MCC Population Health team is leading the work to fulfil the ambition of Manchester being an ACE-aware, trauma informed and trauma responsive city by 2025. A city with a co-ordinated approach to reducing exposure to ACEs, where all practitioners work with residents to prevent or mitigate the consequences of trauma; helping children, families, and communities to build resilience; and improve outcomes for residents by working in a trauma responsive way.

The Committee considered the report and accompanying presentations of the Director of Public Health that provided an overview of how the MCC Population Health team was leading the work to fulfil the ambition of Manchester being an ACE-aware, trauma informed and trauma responsive city by 2025. A city with a co-ordinated approach to reducing exposure to ACEs, where all practitioners work with residents to prevent or mitigate the consequences of trauma; helping children, families, and communities to build resilience; and improve outcomes for residents by working in a trauma responsive way.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·         Providing an introduction and background, noting the pilot scheme delivered in Hapurhey between September 2018 and August 2019 and subsequent evaluation;

·         Describing how this approach was embedded into mainstream provision within the Population Health team; included in the city-wide Covid recovery plan;

·         Describing how this approach was embedded in a range of serves across the health sector; and

·         Describing how success was to be measured.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         The Chair paid tribute to the approach and gave testimony as to the impact the training had on professionals and how this had positively influenced their approach to their work;

·         Noting the positive work delivered with Social Landlords more needed to be done to engage with landlords in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) around this issue;

·         ACE Training should be made available to all Councillors and MPs;

·         How had COVID impacted on the delivery of this programme;

·         What were the barriers to accelerating this programme and what could the Committee do to support this activity; and

·         Acknowledging that Manchester was pioneering this approach and would inform and support the development of a Greater Manchester programme.

The Project Manager, ACEs and Trauma Informed Practice stated that Covid had presented a significant challenge to delivering this programme and establishing the community hubs, however opportunities had been taken to deliver virtual engagement, networking and training events with a range of participants, noting that these had been very successful. She stated that appropriate consideration would be given to people’s concerns and social apprehensions post lockdown in the delivery of community hubs so as to give confidence and support to residents using these.

The Project Manager, ACEs and Trauma Informed Practice stated that working in partnership with the local Integrated Neighbourhood Teams and the VCSE would ensure all communities were catered for, adding that if Members were aware of any community groups that would benefit from this service they should contact her.

In response to the comment made regarding the PRS Landlords she stated she would take this away from the meeting for consideration,

The Director of Public Health added that undoubtedly Covid had impacted on the implementation plans, noting that the Public Health Annual report provided a case study of where the Programme Lead had been deployed to deliver Covid response duties, however he reassured Members this work was key to the recovery programme and he commented that training would be extended to Councillors and MPs.

Decisions

The Committee;

1.    Endorse the approach, continue to support trauma informed and trauma responsive practice, and undertake to promote it wherever possible; and

2.    Invite the project team back in June or July 2022 to update on progress.

3. Recommend that the ACE Training should be made available to all Councillors and MPs.