Case studies

Children in Lancashire and Cumbria have poorer dental health compared to children in other parts of England. The Smile4Life programme was developed in partnership with local authorities to address this problem.

While oral health in Suffolk is generally good, just over 18 per cent of five-year-olds already have dental decay and in some parts of the county nearly a quarter have one or more decayed teeth.

This project focuses on younger children and includes:

Very young children in Manchester were found to have high levels of tooth decay. Prolonged bottle feeding, often with sugared drinks, was of particular concern in this area.

Public health's role in local government and NHS integration (6 case studies) by the LGA and the Association of Directors of Public Health.

Wakefield Connecting Care programme, which incorporates the BCF, is a partnership between the CCG and the council, working closely with NHS providers and the voluntary and community sectors.  A key element of the programme is establishing integrated care hubs – care closer to people’s homes through integrated teams based around GP practices.

The public health team has contributed to a five year integration strategy bringing together a wide range of adult health and care services. An important public health role is to identify high-risk population groups whose needs impact significantly on both health and social care services, thereby revealing a mutual interest for both NHS and county council to develop integrated improvement and prevention services.

How public health became involved When based in the PCT, public health was central to both NHS strategic planning and joint planning with the council. This role was maintained when it transferred to the council, with public health taking the lead for several aspects of the BCF and wider integration.

Hertfordshire based its work on topics jointly agreed as priorities rather than just what the public health team thought was important. Projects with too many barriers or dependencies were put back while higher priority and more deliverable projects were prioritised.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the CCG are moving jointly towards an integrated outcomes-based adult community health and social care service. This aspiration now also includes mental health services and early thinking has started for children’s services