Infant mortality, cost of living crisis and inequality among public health challenges facing Walsall

Departing Walsall director of public health Stephen Gunther said it was vital to get support to those who need it most in the borough, adding that there was a lot of work to do.

But he said a number of programmes and initiatives have been put in place to enable people to get access to help.

Key issues which need to be addressed include the long term impact of Covid, mental health wellbeing, infant mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, tobacco and improving people’s diets.

Mr Gunther said: “The cost of living will have an impact on people’s wellbeing so seeing prices rise will impact on hundreds if not thousands of people in the borough.

“How do we drive reducing inequalities across the borough, linked to the cost of living?

“There is aspiration there in the Walsall 2040 strategy saying 'this is what we could be'. Getting investment into the borough, skills and jobs is also going to be key - that will drive wellbeing.

“But on the flip-side you need to have a healthy workforce to be able to take those jobs and flourish in them. It’s the same side of the coin.

“It starts in the early years where we have high infant mortality, so really need to concentrate on that.

“And then moving into education and making sure standards are high – they are improving which is great but still more work to do.

“A fair, sustainable and affordable food system, as outlined in my annual report, is a key area of focus for the team.

“The other thing that kills most of us is tobacco so there is real focus on that. It’s a silver lining of Covid that people have made different choices such as quitting.

“We have got some issues around sexually transmitted diseases and we are reshaping a whole campaign around sexual wellbeing and key messages for young people.

“We are increasing access to our sexual wellbeing services with new sites in Brownhills and the town centre coming in the autumn.”

A new wellbeing service is also being launched in the autumn which Mr Gunther said would bring together the physical, financial, social and mental wellbeing of people and provide a holistic approach to support.

Other strategies include a new mental wellbeing plan for 10 years which will see “significant investment” into the area, while work continues on TB.

Recent success has seen teenage pregnancies fall and an increase in the uptake of MMR vaccinations following a drop after Covid.

Mr Gunther leaves Walsall later this month and will take up an executive director post in Stoke-on-Trent in the autumn.