Health Partnership

What is the purpose and what are the goals of the Partnership?

The Health Partnership provides a framework for action to improve health and address health inequalities. Key areas for action are:

• Infant and maternal health
• Lifestyles (smoking cessation, increased exercise, healthy diet, alcohol)
• Environment (safety and accidents)
• Targeting the over 50s
• Teenage pregnancy and sexual health
• Mental health promotion

What is the National Context?

The national priorities set out in the white paper "Choosing Health" are: reducing smoking, reducing obesity and improving diet and nutrition, increasing exercise, supporting sensible drinking, improving sexual health and improving mental health.

The Public Service Agreement targets of 2004 emphasise tackling inequalities in health by setting targets to address geographical inequalities in life expectancy, cancer, heart disease, stroke and related diseases. The targets aim to see faster progress for areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators. Achievement will be assessed in 2010.

What are the Partnership's Priorities in Tameside?

• Reducing early deaths from heart disease and cancer
• Reducing infant mortality
• Increasing access to health care and health improvement opportunities

Key progress since 2003:

The Tameside and Glossop Health Improvement and Health Inequalities Strategy was first launched in 2003. Since this time, we have seen some real improvements in services and health delivered together through the Health Spearhead and the Health Partnership in Tameside.

Life expectancy

• The Connect 4 Life programme targeted those at highest risk of developing circulatory disease
• A Know Your Numbers campaign took place to raise public awareness of measuring blood pressure
• The development of a programme to encourage early diagnosis of breast cancer in areas of deprivation
• There have been positive reductions in death rates for men for all age all cause mortality, and a reduction in the gap between Tameside and England

Smoking cessation

• There was reduced smoking by pregnant mothers
• We have developed an under-age tobacco sales programme
• Workplace based smoking-quitter sessions took place

Diet, nutrition and oral health

• An increasing number of schools achieved the healthy food and drink award
• An increase in breastfeeding initiation
• New childhood obesity prevention programmes and an obesity service in general practice
• Oral health prevention has been embedded in Children’s Centre services

Physical activity

• An increase in pupils achieving Public Service Agreement (PSA) target for physical activity
• Lifestyle courses were introduced throughout the borough
• Full time Health Coaches
• 11,000 young people attended weekend community sports sessions

Teenage pregnancy and sexual health

• 48 hour access to sexual health services
• Significant decrease in gonorrhoea rates
• Pharmacy based emergency contraception service
• Development of C-card scheme and Chlamydia screening programme

Mental health promotion

• Prescribing rate for benzodiazepines continues to decrease
• Primary Care Mental Health Team was launched in July 2007 with an integrated referral system
• Commissioned computerised cognitive behavioural therapy: Fear Fighter and Beating the Blues in line with National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance

Some of the key projects the partnership is currently working on include:

• Focusing action on priority geographical areas/ groups in order to reduce the gap in health inequalities
• Reducing teenage pregnancies
• Producing a Communication Strategy for Reducing Teenage Pregnancies
• Getting more local people, more active, more often through the development of a Sport and Physical Activity Strategy and Sport and Physical Activity Alliance
• Promoting the concept that health improvement in Tameside is “Everybody’s Business”.
• Deliver the Affordable Warmth Strategy .

Key documents

Health Inequalities Strategy 2008 (1.14MB)

We are taking the opportunity to refresh our strategy during 2010.

For find out more about the work of the partnership, please contact Debbie Bishop on 0161 342 3358.