The Director of Public Health (DPH) has a statutory duty to publish an Annual Public Health Report that details the state of health within the local population.
The 2019 independent annual public health report focused on one of the most important factors influencing health: our working lives. Whether we work, the type of work we do and the conditions in which we work contribute a great deal to our health and wellbeing, both positively and negatively.
We are fortunate to have high employment in much of our County, with more than 80% of working age adults working. This report highlights the work that is being done locally to support further job creation, through our growth deals and our Place strategies, as well as the progress we are making with national priorities to encourage young people to aspire to good jobs.
Inequalities in work and health
Our report also highlights some of the challenges faced in today’s workplaces. These include challenges to our mental health and wellbeing, as well as some of the inequalities that we see in the workplace, particularly in terms of the gap in employment we see for those with learning disabilities and mental health problems who are in work, and who are not.
The report makes a number of recommendations for the County Council and partners ‘anchor’ organisations to improve health in the workplace, not least that the organisations work together to become the ‘exemplars’ for healthy workplaces.