Have your say on RBWM health and wellbeing strategy

Residents are being asked to have their say on a strategy for improving health and wellbeing across the Royal Borough.

A public consultation is asking for feedback on a joint health and wellbeing strategy, put together in a collaboration between the Royal Borough, the NHS and partners in the community and voluntary sector.

The 10-year strategy is a statutory requirement, and the public will get the chance to air their views in a consultation running until December 7.

At a Royal Borough health and wellbeing board meeting on Tuesday, October 7, councillors heard the breakdown of the strategy and what it aims to achieve before they approved it to go out for consultation.

The strategy has four outcomes that focus on ‘best start in life’ during childhood, ‘living well’ in adulthood, ‘healthy ageing’ and ensuring the borough is a healthy place to live in.

The strategy acknowledges that the Royal Borough is an affluent area, with lower levels of deprivation and higher life expectancy, but  ‘pockets of hidden inequalities become visible’ under closer examination.

Priorities for the next 10 years include promoting positive mental health and wellbeing among children, promoting oral health, and working to prevent childhood obesity.

For adults, encouraging healthy behaviours is key, as well as work to tackle the harm caused by alcohol and tobacco.

As we get older, the focus shifts to promoting independence, tackling loneliness, and screening and early intervention for health conditions.

By 2036, the strategy is targeting 75 per cent of cancers being diagnosed at either stage one or two and to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke deaths by a quarter.

It is also aiming for an increased percentage of children at a healthy weight, a smoking prevalence below 5 per cent, and 100 per cent of the eligible population being invited to have an NHS health check every five years.

It will work with social housing providers to ‘increase safe affordable and adaptable housing’.

Residents will also be encouraged to use more sustainable transport and integrate cycling and walking into their daily routines.

Kevin McDaniel, the council’s director of adult services and health (DASS) said: “I was really pleased to see that the consultation has thought about how we might reach the economically disadvantaged.”

The chair of the health and wellbeing board, Councillor Catherine Del Campo said putting together the draft was a ‘massive team effort’.

Martha Earley, the associate director for places and communities for Frimley’s NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), also supported holding a formal consultation, even though it is not a statutory requirement.

Ms Earley said: “[It’s] a really helpful thing to do in terms of making sure that we can reach our communities.

“[It’s] really, really important that we engage local people in any further iteration so that local people own the strategy.”

Cllr Del Campo said: “I know sometimes people can be a bit weary of consultations and think that ultimately it won’t make any difference.

“I am quite confident that it will. I would encourage anyone to take part in the consultation because it does make a difference.”

After the consultation, the final version of the strategy will be brought back to the health and wellbeing board in January 2026 to be voted on.

View the consultation here.