Contents

Introduction To The Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy

At the core of our new Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Bexley is prevention, early help, and reducing health inequalities, ensuring Bexley is a place where everyone can live a healthy and fulfilling life. Our focus is on improving health and wellbeing not only by making sure local health and care services meet the needs of Bexley residents when they need them, but also by addressing wider determinants of health and wellbeing such as housing, education, and economic and environmental factors, to reduce the need, where possible, for residents to require the support of services in the first place.1

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all our lives, but we know that it impacted some people more than others, exacerbating existing, and creating new, inequalities in health, and the current cost-of-living crisis has added to this challenge. We will have a relentless focus on reducing health inequalities over the life of this strategy and it will be a common thread through all our work.

Central to the development of this strategy has been engagement with a wide range of organisations, residents, and community groups to understand the needs of Bexley residents in their broadest sense.

For the period 2023 to 2028 this strategy will focus on four key priorities:

Obesity

Mental health

Children and Young People

Ageing well

Achieving against our priorities within this strategy will require leadership and oversight from our local Health and Wellbeing Board and active engagement from partners, across the local authority, new local and regional NHS structures, the voluntary and community sector, housing associations, schools, local businesses, and our residents and communities.

Our priorities and actions will help deliver the recently published Bexley Plan aiming to make Bexley even better by supporting residents to live the best lives possible and to reach their potential.2 The strategy also dovetails with the South East London (SEL) Integrated Care System (ICS) priorities 2023 to 2028 and the Bexley Wellbeing Partnership's Vision for Health and Care for Bexley. We have developed a joint integrated action plan3 that outlines the work we will do to deliver this strategy, and are working together so that we maximise our efforts.

Where it makes sense to do so we will work at scale with our regional partners and we will continue to work to deliver what is right for Bexley and Bexley’s communities, working at local and neighbourhood level.

We would like to thank all those who contributed to the development of the strategy including residents, community groups, and all those who continue to work tirelessly to support the health and wellbeing of those living and working in Bexley.

Councillor Teresa O'Neill OBE, Leader of the Council

Councillor Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, Leader of the Council

Dr Nicole Klynman

Dr Nicole Klynman, Director of Public Health, MB.BS, MSc, DTM&H, MRCGP, FFPH Director of Public Health

  1. Bexley’s prevention approach is outlined in the local system-wide Bexley Prevention Strategy - Start well, live well and age well (PDF)
  2. The Bexley Plan
  3. Joint Integrated Action Plan (PDF)