Rotherham: Support is helping us get in shape for peer review

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council turned to PCH earlier this year for support in completing and responding to the findings from the public health strengths and risks self-assessment tool. Director of Public Health Ben Anderson asked for support ahead of a peer review that the regional ADPH team is set to run in the autumn.   Ben said: 

“We wanted to identify areas of focus for the peer review, but more generally have that external oversight into our strengths and weaknesses. I felt it would be a really positive exercise for the team following re-structuring after the pandemic.   

“As a director of public health, this external input can strengthen the arguments you are making.  Having the respected independent voice and evidence from PCH about our opportunities to improve and the challenges that need addressing gives validation for that improvement journey. That is how I viewed it – you should not be defensive about what needs improving.”

The public health team completed the self-assessment in the spring before a half-day workshop was held in June attended by the public health senior management team. The council worked with two PCH peers – both former directors of public health.

Through use of the strengths and risks tool the team worked with the PCH peers to identify three domains for further scrutiny in the peer review process:

• leadership and governance 
• culture and challenges 
• making a difference.

At the workshop, the key findings of Rotherham’s self-assessment were presented.  There were plenty of positives, including robust systems for monitoring data, a proactive culture within the public health team and strong partnership-working.

But a number of opportunities for improvement were also identified. The peers noted that it was a period of change with a new lead member for adult social care and public health in place as well as wider changes to the public health workforce. A number of grant-funded posts were coming to an end in 2025 and there was concern that high inflation had led to significant financial pressures for contracted services. It was also felt that the public health team could be more effective in “understanding, interpreting and communicating” in its community engagement role.

The findings were used to prompt debate and help identify actions that could be taken and the council is now moving on with several of these. “The peers were great,” said Ben. “They really challenged us to think about what we were doing and where it could be improved. We were already aware of many of the challenges, but it gives you real impetus to get on and address them.  

“For example, in terms of community engagement, our existing Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is full of charts and graphs – it is very data heavy. But as part of our refresh we are looking to get more personal voices in – to tell the stories of what people are actually experiencing.   “It is the same for our Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We know our local population are getting ill at an earlier age – the data shows that - but to hear about the impact that has on their family life and their ability to work really hits home. It gives the figures meaning, particularly for elected members.   

“We are using the Core 20 Plus approach – trying to work with our most deprived communities as well as identifying groups that have particularly high risk of health inequalities, such as traveller communities, sex workers and those in contact with the criminal justice system. We are also doing things like taking our refreshed Health and Wellbeing Strategy to the Youth Council.”

In terms of supporting members, Rotherham’s Public Health Team has arranged for further support from PCH to deliver Prevention Matters training sessions for all elected members to be run. 

Ben said: “Following May’s local elections we have a new lead member for adult social care and public health, a new chair of the Health Select Commission and new scrutiny members.  This creates an excellent opportunity to engage with members on health and the issues that impact our residents’ health and wellbeing.    

“We have also realised we need to shout more loudly about the excellent work we are doing as a public health team, and developing our member engagement will play a significant part in this.   

“Finally, we are doing some work around framing the narrative of coping with inflation – looking at how to explain the pressures on the public health service providers. Having a ring-fenced public health grant can be a double-edged sword, with internal and external partners assuming that it gives some shielding from the financial pressures they are feeling. 

“In reality public health service providers are still being asked to make a significant amount of savings as inflation creates significant pressures for them. We need to do more to get that message across as we work with providers to maintain the capacity and quality of services.”