Agenda item

Dr Jane O’Grady, Director of Public Health, Buckinghamshire Council.

Dr Jane O’Grady, Director of Public Health, Buckinghamshire Council, provided a presentation appended to the minutes.  Dr O’Grady highlighted the size of the problem and emphasised that domestic abuse suffered from huge under-reporting. Abuse could take many forms and it was estimated that 21,000 adults were affected per year; approximately 57 per day and accounted for 15% of all crime in Buckinghamshire. The cost of the consequences of domestic abuse in Buckinghamshire, using national estimates, was £687m.  Between 2011 and 2020 there had been 15 domestic homicides.

Highlights:

• Anyone could be at risk of domestic abuse but there was increased risk for those with disabilities, women and those with mental health issues.
• Dr O’Grady stressed the need for improved data collection to understand the use and need of the Services.
• More focus was required on the perpetrators.
• Domestic abuse had a huge impact on victims resulting in, e.g., poor physical and mental health, the ability to work and attempted suicide.
• Covid-19 had resulted in a rise in domestic abuse as people were trapped at home.
• It was estimated that 1 in 5 homeless women was due to domestic abuse.

There was a massive impact on children, in Buckinghamshire:

• There had been approximately 2,400 referrals for a children’s social care assessment where domestic abuse was a primary concern in 2021.
• Domestic abuse accounted for almost a quarter of children’s social care referrals.
• Domestic abuse was the primary reason for half of the looked after children in 2021.
• There was a higher risk in harmful long term consequences as the children were more likely to abuse alcohol and become victims of perpetrators.

Prevention was key:

• The Domestic Abuse Board was in place.
• Shared training with partners was required.
• Clear and accessible referral pathways were required.
• Intervention for perpetrators. 

Dr O’Grady raised the following questions with the HWB members:

• What is your role in prevention, affecting wider social attitudes, bystander training?
• What is your role in awareness raising and identifying instances of domestic abuse?
• What training do your staff have? Is it sufficient, evidence based, comprehensive? Do staff know where to refer?
• How do you support people with domestic abuse and other issues? How do you support your staff experiencing domestic abuse?
• How many domestic abuse champions do you have in your organisation and where are they?
• What data do you have that could help tailor services?
• How can we support the work of the Domestic Abuse Board?

The following key points were raised in discussion:

·       The Chairman recommended everyone to read the Director of Public Health Domestic Abuse annual report if they had not already done so. 

·       Cllr Steve Bowles advised that it was a statutory duty for BC to have a Domestic Abuse Strategy and it was evidence-based and developed using a country-wide needs assessment and co-designed with the new Domestic Abuse Board.  The next steps for the Domestic Abuse Board were to draw up an action plan; Cllr Bowles offered to report back on the progress to the HWB. 

Action:  J Boosey

·       Councillors would be signing a pledge against Domestic Violence.

·       A separate strategy was also being considered for violence against women and girls.

·       How to pick up issues of domestic abuse would need to be considered when using alternative means of access to GPs when appointments may not be face to face.

·       Women were fearful of their children being taken away.

·       How could perpetrators be encouraged to come forward and access the support needed?

·       There was real opportunity for a collaborative approach involving the voluntary sector and Dr O’Grady was asked to provide a presentation to the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partnership board.

·       In response to Dr O’Grady’s request to understand how to implement the training in primary care; Dr Bajwa advised that Bucks Bridges would be arranging training and recommended that Dr O’Grady contact Kathy Hoffman.

The Chairman recommended the questions for the HWB and should be circulated to the board. 

Action:  J Boosey

Resolved:  The Health and Wellbeing Board:

·       Noted the Director of Public Health Annual Report and endorsed the recommendations.

·       Members of the Health and wellbeing Board agreed to identify how their organisation could tackle domestic violence and contribute to the delivery of the Director of Public Health Annual Report recommendations and the actions in the developing Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Strategy.

• The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed to ensure active engagement of the relevant organisations in the Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Board.