The report of the Director of Population Health and Wellbeing is to follow.

The Board received a report from the Director of Population Health and Wellbeing which provided an overview of some of the initiatives and programmes currently underway in Manchester related to housing and health for the purpose of contributing to better outcomes for residents. The Board also received a presentation.

The report provided the basis for a thematic discussion on the challenges and opportunities for a stronger collaborative approach between the organisations represented on the Health and Wellbeing Board registered providers and other key stakeholders.

The Chair invited comments and questions from Board members.

A member welcomed the report and referred to the work being done on age friendly initiatives within the city. Reference was also made to the good work being done within the social housing sector however, it was commented that more focus was needed on work with private rental sector landlords. The Board was informed that a growing number of residents in private rented accommodation were contacting local councillors regarding the condition of their homes and the related health conditions suffered as a consequence of this. The private sector provided accommodation for many of the most vulnerable people in the city and this would usually be low quality accommodation. It was requested that private rental sector accommodation be included within the work programme of the Board.

A member commented on the positive work of health providers to provide mini hubs to support heath care for homeless people in view of the significant impact homelessness has on the health of the individual. It was noted that the average life expectancy of a person sleeping rough over time reduces significantly due to resulting ill health (female 43 years and male 47 years). The Board was informed that another area of concern is the number of homeless people living within temporary dispersed accommodation across Manchester, which currently stands at 1900. The poor living conditions of short term private sector accommodation being used in these situations was having a negative impact on the health of those people concerned. The Board was requested to include the impact of homelessness on health within the work programme.

It was reported that the work of Wythenshawe Integrated Neighbourhood Service (WINS) had been successful in the way issues such as health and adult and children’s safeguarding had been identified and addressed. Also, training materials had been developed for health workers and twelve homeless health champions were available to provide help and support at the Urban Village Medical Practice. It was noted that the service could be further improved through upskilling by primary care staff within their existing skillsets.

In noting the importance of focussing on the health of homeless people, a member highlighted the need to consider work taking place on an inclusion based primary health care model that included support for before and after periods of homelessness. Reference was made to clusters of poor quality temporary private rented accommodation that is used to home a significant number of vulnerable people and the need to recognise the impact of health on those living in poor accommodation.

The Chair welcomed the comments and added that Manchester had seen the private rented housing sector triple in size to become the largest provider of accommodation in the city. The Manchester Life initiative had provided high quality accommodation with flexible three-year secure tenancy agreements for social housing. Unfortunately, this was not the case across all of the private sector with the quality of some of the accommodation used being poor quality. Landlords were using older properties to convert into cheap multiple occupancy lets. It was noted that the private rented sector had become a major contributor in the rise of homeless people and families who were unable to pay increased rents and were subsequently evicted. The Board noted that the impact of poor housing on health was as significant as other major causes such as smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise.

The attention of the Board was drawn to the number of diverse Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the city who were living in low quality accommodation and were unlikely to be registered with a GP or seek medical care. Further research and work was needed to reach out to those communities in order to provide help and support in accessing medical care and better accommodation.

The Chair also referred to the issue of asthma and respiratory disease and as well as the links to poor housing he also stressed the importance of the impact of poor air quality on health. The Chair requested that raising awareness about Clean Air was a key role for health organisations to stimulate discussion and action across a wider audience.

Decisions

1. To note the report submitted.

2. To request the inclusion of the following topics within the Annual Work Programme:

·         Impact on health caused by poor quality accommodation within the private rental sector and support for vulnerable groups;

·         Impact on health as a consequence of homelessness;

·         Research into the health and housing needs of BAME communities living within Manchester.

3. To request that the topic of Clean Air be added to the agenda for the next meeting of the Board.