Health and well-being board set up to influence borough services

Health services delivered across the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will be influenced by a newly implemented health and well-being board.

The board will be formed of 10 core members to include councillors, council officers and chairmen of GP Clinical Commissioning Groups, who will be purchasing healthcare services for residents.

They will meet four times a year and produce an annual report for the Royal Borough cabinet as part of their duty to oversee the work of the provision of health and social care services in the borough with a particular focus on life expectancy and reducing inequalities in health.

The board was established as a result of changes made by The Health and Social Care Act 2012 which transferred responsibilities for public health to local government.

An update of the board's statutory guidelines were given at a cabinet meeting on Thursday at The Guildhall in Windsor.

Strategic director of adult and community services Christabel Shawcross is determined the board will help to improve health for residents and close the six year difference in life expectancy between the borough's most and least deprived wards.

She added: "The board will state clear priorities with an exact aim that residents will see progress quickly."