To hear from the Teaching Primary Care Trust on their plans for the implementation of Vascular Checks and plans for a social marketing campaign for health.
Minutes:
Vascular Checks
The panel was given an overview of Vascular Checks which are due to begin to be rolled out in April ’09.
Vascular checks are being rolled out using a staged approach which is to be completed by 2010/2011.
Initial roll out will be in GP surgeries, community pharmacies and similar.
Vascular Checks are a screening programme and therefore people will be called in for an appointment in the same way that people are called in for cervical and breast screening programmes.
TPCT is working to ensure that the checks are systematic and structured with clear pathways and quality assurances in place. This is a challenge for the programme on the whole.
There are also ethic considerations for example you have to have the systems in place to support a person once you have identified a risk or illness. For example, weight management programmes – Active for Life, GP referral schemes.
Challenge – how do you get people that do not normally attend their GP surgeries to attend for a vascular check? How do you then get people to follow up on the advice that is given to them?
Possibility of vascular checks being rolled out to further settings for example in day centres.
GPs and pharmacies will be incentivised to carry out Vascular Checks.
Points of discussion
Weight measurement is not in the DH guidance. However the TPCT could modify their tool to include this. Weight measurements are particularly relevant in Haringey due to the ethnic diversity in the borough and links with particular health problems.
A social marketing campaign could use people that have had a stroke/have a long term condition for an element of realism e.g. “I wish I had known….”.
Discussion around setting local success criteria/targets e.g. 5% increase in leisure facility use.
Consideration to 3 months free leisure membership?
Discussion around the capacity of other services e.g. if you sign
post people to leisure facilities then they need to be available to
them. This includes physical capacity,
cost and opening hours.
There needs to be a link between all services and vascular checks to ensure that the structure is there to support the checks as they are rolled out.
Consideration to be given for this to have a named person e.g. The Joint Director of Public Health and for a recommendation regarding capacity building.
Consideration of using the opening of neighbourhood centres/Hornsey as an opportunity to write to everyone in the catchment area inviting them in for a Vascular check.
Discussion around the possibility of piloting on a neighbourhood basis.
Discussion about using Haringey People to advertise and encourage people to have vascular checks. This would be more beneficial later down the line, when the checks have been rolled out further.
Social Marketing
Social marketing is about understanding the local population and what levers might make them change their behaviour.
About marketing messages to people dependent upon their background and lifestyle.
Current campaigns include diabetes, Chlamydia, cervical screen etc.
A London wide Vascular Check social marketing campaign is currently being developed but as yet it is not clear what benefits this has for Haringey.
In Haringey there is not currently any funding committed for a stroke or vascular check campaign. However, this is currently being looked at.
Consideration to be given to a recommendation regarding a social marketing campaign in Haringey for both strokes and vascular checks.