Health and wellbeing strategy shows RBWM has ‘pockets of deprivation’ 

A Royal Borough board has approved a 10-year health and wellbeing strategy which looks to support those living in ‘pockets of deprivation’ across Windsor and Maidenhead.

The health and wellbeing strategy was put together in collaboration between the Royal Borough, the NHS and partners in the community and voluntary sector.

The 2026-2036 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.

A public consultation also ran from October to December which asked residents to share their views on the strategy.

At a Royal Borough health and wellbeing board meeting on Monday (January 19), councillors discussed the outcomes of the consultation and decided to approve the new strategy.

Ellen Gavin, the council’s public health service lead, told the Town Hall meeting: “When looking at RBWM, overall, we look like we’re doing quite well.

“But when you dive a little deeper, there are pockets of deprivation and areas for improvement, particularly around health inequalities.”

For children in their ‘early years’, there are slightly lower child development scores compared to the England average, while there are higher rates of young people not in education, employment or training, Ms Gavin added.

Feedback from the public consultation also said the prevention of health inequalities ‘needed a stronger emphasis’. The strategy now reinforces its message around early intervention.

The strategy said the Royal Borough has a higher density of fast-food venues compared to the average of the South East.

The number of venues licensed to sell alcohol also ‘exceeds’ both South East England and national averages.

Councillor Catherine Del Campo (Lib Dem, Furze Platt), the council’s cabinet member for health, housing services and housing delivery, agreed that the borough has ‘quite a level of wealth’ but believed there are ‘significant areas of need’.

“I think this [health strategy] is such an apolitical thing that we’re doing. … It should be a shared objective wherever you sit politically,” she added.

Residents said mental health ‘should also be more prominent’ within the strategy, with physical activity as a ‘standalone priority’.

The strategy’s priorities for the next 10 years thus include mental health as a ‘cross-cutting’ priority within ‘best start in life’.

For children, it also promotes oral health and will work towards preventing childhood obesity.

Lin Ferguson, the council’s executive director for children’s services and education, said: “I am delighted and thrilled that children are central to this strategy because at the end of the day, they are the future of the borough.”

For adults, as part of the strategy’s ‘living well’ theme, healthy weight and physical activity were separated into two priorities, as well as working to tackle the harm caused by alcohol and tobacco.

As residents move into old age, the focus shifts to promoting independence, tackling loneliness, and screening and early intervention for health conditions.

By 2036, the strategy aims to have 75 per cent of cancers diagnosed at either stage one or two.

It also aims to increase the percentage of children at a healthy weight whilst reducing the number of young people engaging in harmful behaviours such as smoking and alcohol use.

The progress of the strategy will be monitored annually.