Demonstrating the Need for your Work

Arun is a largely coastal district in West Sussex, to the West of Adur & Worthing and East of Chichester. Many wards in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton are classed within the highest 20% of the Indices of Deprivation (with three wards in the highest 10% nationally). There are no Arts Council Portfolio Organisations in the District, although there are a wealth of small cultural enterprises and a growing digital sector. The Coast2Capital LEP recognise the Coastal strip, which includes both Littlehampton and Bognor Regis, as being at greater risk of long-term impacts from Covid due to their reliance on the tourism and hospitality sectors, which disproportionately employ younger people (source: West Sussex Skills & Employment Report, 2021).

Below is a selection of interactive data sources that share health statistics / levels of mental health and vulnerability from the District and illustrations of the socio-economic data that often underpins health inequality.

Indices of Multiple Deprivation
The below map shows local Health and Deprivation data for the District of Arun. This data is taken from the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2019. The Indices of Deprivation use 39 separate indicators, organised across seven distinct areas (including employment, income, education) and more to calculate where an area sits in comparison to the rest of England. With the map we have chosen to show only the Health and Disability data section of the wider indices. The darker the colour, the worse the score for the area. As you can see from the map Littlehampton and Bognor Regis are experiencing higher levels of deprivation. Each little shape is roughly between 1,000-2000 people. The Health data is made up of different statistics including mood and anxiety disorders, Years of potential life lost: premature death; Comparative illness and disability ratio, emergency admission to hospital.

Community Insight map  https://brighton-hove.communityinsight.org/ 

This detailed map contains multiple, searchable, data sets. Type Arun, or the relevant postcode for your planned work, into the Navigate button, and then use the Data button to display mapping data for that specific area. Depending on the area you are targeting in your project/planning, it may be useful to search using the following categories:

Serious mental illness prevalence

Indices of deprivation indicator data, including:

   Health Deprivation & Disability Rank

   Mood & Anxiety Disorders

Vulnerable groups, including:

   Children aged 0-15 in Poverty

   People with Mental Health Issues

   Children Providing Unpaid Care

Prevalence of health conditions, such as depression

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)  https://digital.nhs.uk/services/quality-and-outcomes-framework-qof-online-database

This online database lets you explore the statistics for Depression and Mental Health diagnoses at GP level in Arun. Arun Primary Care networks have been broken into two neighbourhoods. By clicking “Search for practice results” and entering the criteria you wish to search by, you can compare their data with the rest of England, and others in the CCG. Once you have selected the GP surgery you wish to compare, search “Show comparisons on chart” and select “CCG Average” and “England Average”.

This framework includes two useful local mental health statistics, stating percentage of patients receiving the intervention:

Depression: Defined as the percentage of patients aged 18 or over with a new diagnosis of depression in the preceding 1 April to 31 March, who have been reviewed not earlier than 10 days after and not later than 56 days after the date of diagnosis. Although this figure is for adults only, it helps to frame the local need.

Mental health: Defined as the percentage of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses who have a comprehensive care plan documented in the record, in the preceding 12 months, agreed between individuals, their family and/or carers as appropriate.   Although a small sample size, it gives an indication of comparison with other CCG averages.

Although West Sussex is a relatively affluent County, there are significant differences in resources and access to services for children and young people in rural areas vs the towns and much of Littlehampton and Bognor Regis fall into the highest 20% in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

Guidance on local needs in the County: What Works Wellbeing November 2017
https://whatworkswellbeing.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/indicator-dataset-Nov17_0216788700.xlsx

Topics covered:

Personal Wellbeing (self-reported)

Happiness yesterday

Life satisfaction

Purpose (activities in life are worthwhile)

Anxiety yesterday

% children reporting low life satisfaction

Depression and anxiety prevalence (GP Patient Survey): % of respondents aged 18+

% using natural environment for health and exercise

Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Profiling Tool by Public Health England 

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/mental-health/profile/cypmh

This is a website developed to support an intelligence driven approach to understanding and meeting need. It provides the means to benchmark an area against England, region or similar populations (down to Coastal West Sussex level). It collates and analyses a wide range of publicly available information on:

Hospital admissions as a of self-harm (10-24 years)

Admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions – Under 18

Hospital admissions due to substance misuse (15-24 years)

Hospital admissions for mental health conditions

(all of the above 2018/19 shows higher than average in West Sussex, for self harm in particular)

Estimated prevalence of common mental disorders: % of population aged 16 & over (2017)

(lower than average at County level)

Children & Young People’s Mental Health has been identified as a priority for West Sussex County Council and local NHS services.

West Sussex County Council in the introduction to their 2019 Health & Happiness Survey write, ‘Children and young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing are key priorities for Public Health and the council and are central to the work of partner organisations working to improve children’s lives.’

The West Sussex Local Transformation Plan (2015 – 2021)  outlines that ‘National policy reflects the general consensus that the resilience and emotional wellbeing of children and young people is facing greater challenges than ever before’.

The West Sussex Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Toolkit has been produced by the County Council to provide insight into local socio-economic and contextual factors. This linked chapter helps consider factors related to the promotion of mental wellbeing and the prevention of mental health problems in West Sussex. It provides easy access to nationally available topic-focused information, guidance and knowledge. The chapter text aims to be plain English and ready to be cut and pasted. The numerous links to external sites should all be current, relevant, and provide access to material that contributes to the JSNA process.

Arun District Council run their own Wellbeing Team whose services reflect current public health priorities in the District.

Mental Wellbeing is also a key driver for a number of other strategic agencies supporting children and young people in the County, such as Active Sussex, as understanding grows about the interconnectedness of physical and mental health, environment, and life chances.

For example, this Gov.uk Community Wellbeing and Social Capital report outlines the relationship between community wellbeing and social capital, outlining how good mental health and wellbeing is an important health outcome in its own right and can improve resilience to mental and physical illness. Measures of good social capital are associated with better population-level health and wellbeing.