Agenda item

Report attached

Officers explained that they wished to undertake a resident engagement strategy and that a supportive, open environment was needed for good sexual wellbeing. The Council was responsible for mandated, open access sexual health services and it was wished for local people to use local services of this type. The Integrated Care Board was responsible for services such as vasectomy and abortion whilst NHS England provided other services such as cervical screening.

Havering had a better rate of testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) than the England average and the rate of testing for STIs had increased significantly. STI diagnoses in Havering had reduced overall but had gone up recently. HIV rates had improved in Havering compared with the London and England averages though it was noted that whilst patient numbers may be low, they often had high needs.

Teenage pregnancy in Havering had decreased 55% since 2011 and had now lowered to the 8^th highest rate in London. Abortion rates remained high. It was accepted that Havering usage rates for long acting contraception could be higher and this also depended on the age of the user. It was wished to increase the uptake of long-term contraception use, especially by younger age groups.

Officers wished to work with partners to deliver high quality sexual health services across North East London. Priorities had been discussed with commissioners and it was wished to engage on whether these priorities were correct. A residents survey would be undertaken across North East London with both on-line and paper versions. There would also be a focus on hard to reach groups. The survey would go live very shortly. Google translate could be used to put the on-line survey into other languages. Organisations such as the LGBTQ+ forum would also be involved in the survey.

A workshop with partners on the issues covered by the survey was planned. A member of the Board added that long acting reversible contraceptions were now offered by fewer practitioners as the validation process had been made more complex. Officers agreed that they wished for more GPs to offer this sort of contraception.

Safeguarding conversations were still required for new users of e.g. condoms from primary care. It was also wished to have more sexual health testing at home. Successes such as lowering the rate of HIV infection had been due to prep being available on the NHS. Investment such as this would save money in the long run.

It was accepted that there was still a stigma around sexual health services for some people which sometimes led them to use services in another borough. It was wished to work across the sector to identify contraception advisers.

The Board AGREED:

1.    For Havering Health and Wellbeing Board Partners to share the survey widely across their networks, both residents and professionals, to shape the development of the strategy.

2.    For Havering Health and Wellbeing Board Partners to endorse the development of a co-ordinated strategy across the North East London Integrated Care System (NEL ICS) and commit to an action plan to improve sexual and reproductive health for Havering residents.

3.    That the action plan should be brought back to the Board once it has gone to the Partnership for consideration