This year’s Annual Director of Public Health Report focuses on the role of social capital in improving health and wellbeing. Drawing on local and national evidence, it focuses on how people connect across City & Hackney and how these networks allow people to access and share resources.

The report highlights the strong basis to build upon in City and Hackney and how the public health team, wider council along with our partners across the community and statutory sector can build on this further through working together. The core recommendations of the report are:

1. To design and evaluate our approach with the community 

2. To consider places as well as people to build social capital

3. To work in partnership with the networks and assets across City & Hackney.

The report identified local needs and gaps in services through quantitative data and insights from residents and stakeholders. It provides recommendations to improve healthy weight management in City and Hackney.

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect our health, preventing up to 5 million deaths worldwide each year. But vaccine uptake is falling across the UK, and in City and Hackney, the drop is even sharper. This leaves more people at risk of preventable diseases and outbreaks, with the greatest impact on communities already facing health inequalities.

This plan outlines how we’ll tackle these challenges, focusing on:

• Reaching high-risk groups with vaccinations in community spaces.
• Co-creating resources and campaigns with local communities.
• Using better data to plan and deliver services.
• Making sure services are efficient and evidence-based.
• Training staff to make every interaction an opportunity to promote vaccination.

Our vision is to safeguard all communities from vaccine-preventable diseases by increasing and addressing inequalities in immunisation coverage through action of community-, data- and system-led insights.

The aim of the City and Hackney Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) was to enhance the understanding of this population’s health and wellbeing needs.

It recommended enhancing communication strategies to ensure clear, accessible information for families and professionals; improving early identification and intervention processes; increasing accessibility and availability of health and wellbeing services; implementing targeted strategies to address health and social inequalities; improving data collection and sharing practices; and addressing broader social determinants of health and wellbeing of children and young people with SEND.

Cancer remains a common disease, with one in two people expected to receive a diagnosis during their lifetime.

This needs assessment report aims to assess cancer-related needs in City and Hackney and provide recommendations for local action to improve cancer outcomes – through primary prevention (addressing cancer risk factors), secondary prevention (screening and early diagnosis) and tertiary prevention (effective, equitable treatment and ongoing support for cancer survivors).

The Youth Justice Health Needs Assessment aims to understand the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people known to the Hackney Youth Justice Service.

Each theme is accompanied by specific actions aimed to improve the health and wellbeing offer for children at risk of becoming known, and those already known to the Youth Justice Service in Hackney. These recommendations will inform the ongoing development of an Integrated Health Team within Hackney Youth Justice Service.

This short report by the City and Hackney Public Health Intelligence Team shows that, in the City of London and Hackney, roughly 1,300 years of life are lost due to alcohol-related conditions every year. Areas with a dense concentration of alcohol-selling establishments tend to experience higher rates of harmful alcohol consumption and related incidents. Certain demographic groups are also more vulnerable to these risks. However, access to support services remains limited. Even though Dry January is over, you can still find useful information and support on the Alcohol Change website. You can also talk to your GP, pharmacist, or the City and Hackney Recovery Service for advice and help.

Smoking remains the single biggest risk for cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is also the biggest cause of inequalities in mortality rates between different socio-demographic groups in our communities. This needs assessment by the City and Hackney Public Health Team sets out the national and local policy context about tobacco control, provides insights on the local picture of smoking behaviours, examines the latest evidence and best practice as well as the local response, and makes recommendations for local action.