Conclusion
Thank you for reading my 2024 Director of Public Health report on women’s health. This report is intended to support conversations about the health and wellbeing challenges facing women in society today. It highlights the sex and gender-specific challenges for all women and girls, emphasising the unique opportunities to address inequalities and their impacts on health.
Our challenge now across Torbay is to take decisive action and make the right decisions in all areas to achieve equality and improve outcomes for women.
The broad recommendations in this report are:
- To develop flexible and inclusive employment practices to reflect and encourage women into education and employment.
- To commit to actions which raise awareness of Domestic and Sexual Violence and directly address of the impact of domestic abuse on women who experience it.
- To improve access, experience, and outcomes for women’s healthcare through Torbay’s women’s health hub.
- To recognise and supporting grass roots women’s groups and activities as integral components of mental health and wellbeing provision.
- To develop integrated service delivery pathways for women’s health care, reducing the need to attend multiple appointments for routine health care.
- To develop inclusive approaches that facilitate and support girls and women to become more physically active.
The next steps are to co-produce an action plan with leaders, decision-makers, and communities across Torbay to progress these recommendations. This will be initiated at the launch in October 2024 and will be a key focus over the next 12 months as we strive for system-wide improvements together.
I will keep our partners and stakeholders updated to keep momentum and share progress and learning. To ensure accountability to our communities, we must maintain a focus on measures and evidence which demonstrate the changes made. Therefore, I invite everyone to use the information and evidence base presented in this report to guide actions over the coming year to show our collective capacity to enact meaningful progress.
Individuals and organisations play a crucial role, and I am inviting you to be active in improving the health of women through:
- Advocacy for Equality: Using your voice, power and influence to support policies and initiatives that promote gender equality and address health disparities.
- Creating Supportive Environment: Creating a workplace culture that supports the health and wellbeing of all employees, with a focus on gender-specific needs.
- Policy Development: Implementing policies that promote gender equality and address health disparities within your organisation and the community.
- Data Collection and Analysis: Collecting and analysing data on health outcomes to identify areas of need and measure the impact of your initiatives.
- Leading by Example: Demonstrating inclusive and supportive behaviour in your daily life. Small and large actions can inspire others to follow suit.
By taking these steps, we can collectively help create a more equitable and healthier community for everyone in Torbay.
Dr Lincoln Sargeant
Director of Public Health for Torbay,
October 2024
Acknowledgements
Editorial team
Bruce Bell, Consultant in Public Health
Sarah Aston, Public Health Specialist
Joey Needham, Public Health Specialist
Lu Wills, Public Health Practitioner
Claire Tatton, Public Health practitioner
Claire Truscott, Public Health Intelligence Analyst
Specialist input
Beth Hill, Creative Design Manager
Jo Cochrane, Communications and Engagement Officer
Darren Curnow, Analyst Programmer
Hannah Murphy, Team Support Officer and PA to Dr Lincoln Sargeant
Web company
Insignia Creative https://insigniacreative.co.uk/
Film maker
Carly Aston https://carlyaston.com/
Our sincere gratitude and thanks to the Torbay community groups who gave up their time and valuable insights and ideas and shaped and contributed to this report including:
Phoenix Rising
Girls Against Anxiety
Girl Guiding
Patchwork House
Torbay Family Hubs – Ramble Club
Torbay Learning Disability Partnership Board Ambassadors
Proud 2 Be – Resourcefull
Women’s Circles CIC
Ladies Lounge
Brixham Does Care – Ladies Group
Women’s Institute – Preston and Chelston branch
She and Us
Chinese Community Wellbeing Society
