Members of voluntary sector organisations in Gateshead, Gateshead Council and Gateshead Primary Care Trust are meeting on the morning of Friday 2nd December to find out about the Gateshead Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. Follow the link below to download the presentation given at this event:

An introduction to the Gateshead Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

A study looking at the extent and characteristics of domestic violence in South Tyneside has recently been published. The report also looks at the local services that currently exist for perpetrators, victims and affected children in South Tyneside. It aims to identify gaps in current service provision by comparing local need to current service provision and also by comparing local action to models of best practice. It recommends next steps to address gaps and enhance action around domestic violence in South Tyneside.

Download the report below.

South Tyneside Domestic Violence Needs Assessment (pdf, 2MB)  

It is estimated that there are 11,000 people who are from ethnic groups other than "white British" living in Gateshead. There are some health issues that affect these groups more than the white British population. The presentation below sketches a profile of the black and minority ethnic (BME) population in Gateshead and identifies health issues that particularly affect them. It also summarises the findings of local research that has asked local people from BME communities their views about health and their experiences of using health services.

Health and Care Issues Affecting Black and Minority Ethnic Populations in Gateshead

Sunderland Public Health are hoping to set up a new support group in a bid to raise male life expectancy on Wearside.

NHS South of Tyne and Wear is looking to establish a Men's Health Network to help make men more aware of illness and other issues.

Men aged over 40 are being encouraged to get involved in the initiative, with 15 already recruited.

Yusuf Meah, promoting health practitioner for Sunderland at NHS South of Tyne and Wear, which covers Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (TPCT), explained the reasons behind creating the network.

He said: "Men in Sunderland have a lower life expectancy than the national average - 75.9 compared to 78.3 nationally.

"There are also unnecessary differences in life expectancy locally - a man in Washington South, for example, can expect to live until 83.7, whereas a Hendon man's average life expectancy is 14 years lower at just 69.7.

"Many of these premature deaths could be prevented - whether that be through making lifestyle changes such as losing weight, doing more exercise or stopping smoking - or by simply being more aware of the symptoms of certain conditions and visiting the doctor at an early stage.

"The network will look at all of the above and act as a forum for discussion and support."

Those wanting to join the network will be able to visit regular meetings across the city.

Advice from health professionals, on-the-spot checks and assessments will be available to determine how at risk men are of developing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.

Guest speakers will give presentations on specific conditions and services.

Those interested in joining the network should call Yusuf on 529 7202 or email menshealth@sotw.nhs.uk

A mental and emotional health needs assessment of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) population of NHS South of Tyne and Wear (Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland) November 2010 (Full Document)

LGBT Mental Health and Emotional Needs Assessment.pdf

LGBT needs assessment summary.pdf

2011 Sunderland Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Data Annex

Chapter 1 Population (pdf 1.7MB)

Chapter 1 Population  (Word 8.3MB)

Chapter 2 Social and environmental context (pdf 2.2MB)

Chapter 2 Social and environmental context  (Word 5.8MB)

Chapter 3 Child health and lifestyle (pdf 2.1MB)

Chapter 3 Child health and lifestyle  (Word 11MB)

Chapter 4 Life expectancy and mortality and ill health due to all causes (pdf 0.5MB)

Chapter 4 Life expectancy and mortality and ill health due to all causes  (Word 2.6MB)

Chapter 5 Heart disease, stroke and related conditions (pdf 1.5MB)

Chapter 5 Heart disease, stroke and related conditions  (Word 6.1MB)

Chapter 6 Cancer  (pdf 20MB)

Chapter 6 Cancer (Word 23MB)

Chapter 7 Adult health, long term conditions other than heart disease and cancer, and social care (pdf 21MB)

Chapter 7 Adult health, long term conditions other than heart disease and cancer, and social care  (Word 21MB)

Chapter 8 Adult lifestyle (pdf 1.7MB)

Chapter 8 Adult lifestyle  (Word 4.1MB)

Chapter 9 Public voice (pdf 80KB)

Chapter 9 Public voice  (Word 170KB)

2011 South Tyneside Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Data Annex

Chapter 1 Population (pdf, 1.0MB)

Chapter 1 Population (Word, 7.4MB)

Chapter 2 Social and environmental context(pdf, 2.3MB)

Chapter 2 Social and environmental context (Word, 7.6MB)

Chapter 3 Child health and lifestyle (pdf, 2.1MB)

Chapter 3 Child health and lifestyle (Word, 11.6MB)

Chapter 4 Life expectancy and mortality and ill health due to all causes  (pdf, 0.4MB)

Chapter 4 Life expectancy and mortality and ill health due to all causes  (Word, 2.8MB)

Chapter 5 Heart disease, stroke and related conditions (pdf, 1.1MB)

Chapter 5 Heart disease, stroke and related conditions (Word, 4.4MB)

Chapter 6 Cancer (pdf, 3.6MB)

Chapter 6 Cancer (Word, 7.2MB)

Chapter 7 Adult health, long-term conditions other that heart disease and cancer, and social care (pdf, 6.1MB)

Chapter 7 Adult health, long-term conditions other that heart disease and cancer, and social care (Word, 17MB)

Chapter 8 Adult lifestyle (pdf, 1.6MB)

Chapter 8 Adult lifestyle (Word, 4.5MB) 

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Gateshead Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Workshop on 22nd June at the City Learning Centre.  The 2010 Gateshead JSNA Report and all the supporting evidence can be found at www.gateshead.gov.uk/jsna. There were some technical problems on the day downloading some of the larger documents.  All documents are now downloading successfully. Other materials used on the day can be downloaded below:

Gateshead JSNA index

Gateshead JSNA USeful Websites

Dementia Service Review Exercise

Weight Management Intervention Exercise

The Enhanced Healthy Schools model published by the old Department for Children, Schools and Families (now the Department for Education) asks schools to carry out a Health Needs Assessment for its population of pupils.  A training session at the Dryden Centre, Gateshead, on Wed 26th May gave teachers some tools to use when gathering evidence to assess health need and when making recommendations to improve health-related services.

All the resources used in the session can be downloaded below:

Every fortnight at the Elgin Centre in Deckham Gateshead there will be a chance to get a FREE Health Check including Blood Pressure, Height, Weight and Cholestral test.

Why not pop along on a Wednesday (next session 27th Jan) between 9am and 12noon for a free health check and information around healthly lifestyles

The forum's next meeting is Feb 5th 10am till 12 at St Judes Church Laygate, South Shields

Agenda: Council Funding (see below)

Mental Health Needs Assessment of the Population of NHS South of Tyne and Wear: Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland - 2009
MHNA Final.doc

These reports presents a local perspective on health issues which have a strong national profile.

Annual Reports of the Directors of Public Health for South of Tyne and Wear 2007/08 (pdf 4.3MB)

Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Gateshead 2007-08 (pdf 4.2MB)

Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for South Tyneside 2007-08 (pdf 1.4MB)

Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Sunderland 2007-08 (pdf 2.8MB)

Health Improvement Monitor 2007-08 (pdf 3.5MB)

Please note that these are large files and may take some time to download, particularly if you are not using a broadband connection.

Thanks to everyone who participated so enthusiastically at the workshop on Wed 19th November 2008. The aim of the "Health Needs Assessment" section was to give participants some practical tools which they can use to carry out an effective needs assessment. The following resources were used:
Learning Objectives
Health Needs Assessment Grid
Health Needs Assessment grid with examples of sources of evidence
NICE Model of the Health Needs Assessment cycle
Model of supply, demand and need for health care applied to Urgent Care

If you need any further information about Needs Assessment contact andy.billett@sotw.nhs.uk.

The January/February 2007 issue of the British Journal of School Nursing (pp6-9) contains a useful article by Kath Lancaster, an HNA Nurse Specialist in the Bradford area. The article describes her methodology for carrying out HNAs which seeks to identify those pupils in need of support. It has been adopted widely by school nurses in her local area.

The Journal is available from Gateshead PCT's Health and Information Library Service, based at Team View on the Team Valley Trading Estate.

Thanks to everyone who came along to this workshop and contributed so enthusiastically. Outline Health Needs Assessments were developed looking at
- the health needs of asylum seekers' children
- the health needs of the population of older people who suffer from dementia
- the need for a specialist occupational therapy service for people with cancer
Links to all the materials used in the workshop are included below.

This workshop is now fully booked. If you are coming along you will be sent joining instructions via e-mail. The workshop does not assume any prior knowledge of Health Needs Assessment. However, you may like to read a short paper which argues why this topic is so important. It also includes examples of Health Needs Assessments undertaken locally.

Download Health Needs Assessment - An Essential Tool for Health Service Planning and Commissioning (pdf 203KB)

Thanks to all who came along to this workshop and contributed so enthusiastically. Outline Health Needs Assessments were developed looking at the health needs of people who stammer, the need for telemedicine and the need for physical activity on referral programmes. Links to all the materials used in the workshop are included below.

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and premature death in the UK. In 2005/06 the NHS Stop Smoking Service in Gateshead helped 1,500 people to successfully quit, measured four weeks after setting a quit date. This represents 4% of smokers in Gateshead. But is this service accessed equally by all sections of the population?

Read the full blog to find out about a recent Health Equity Audit which answered this question.

CEHI is delivering a half day workshop looking at how to carry out a Health Needs Assessment on several occasions during the autumn. Health Needs Assessment is a powerful planning tool that can provide evidence about a population on which to develop services and address health inequalities. Workshops on September 25th and November 28th are already full so a further date has been added on December 12th. For further details and a booking form, read the full blog.....

This short report demonstrates how producing a balanced Health Needs Assessment need not be a huge demand on your time and includes three examples of Health Needs Assessments that have been used to support business cases or requests for treatment within Gateshead PCT.

Download Health Needs Assessment - An Essential Tool for Health Service Planning and Commissioning (130KB)

Thanks to all who came along to this workshop. Twelve people attended and there was a good mix of commissioners, service leads and community nurses. Everyone was very enthusiastic and the group sessions generated some lively debate. The full blog contains links to resources used on the morning and a workshop report....

Public Health are running a workshop looking at how to undertake Health Needs Assessment on Monday 27th March 2006. This follows on from a previous session which examined the theory behind health needs assessment and the nature of demand, supply and need for health services. There is no pre-requirement to have attended the previous session. However, if you are interested the slides and report from this workshop can be downloaded below.
HNA Workshop 2004 Slides
HNA Workshop 2004 Report

It is not essential, but if you are attending the workshop you might also like to look at the following resources in advance:
Workshop programme
Links to HNA resources

This fact sheet aims to help you find the information you might need to undertake a piece of health needs assessment (HNA) work.

HNA is a systematic method of identifying the health and healthcare needs of a population and making recommendations for changes to meet these needs. The key types of information which might be included in HNA are summarised and the fact sheet highlights the main sources of health information along with contact details.

Download HNA Fact Sheet (PDF: 49KB)

The workshop on the Wednesday 31st January is in the Boardroom at Gateshead PCT's Headquarters at Team View on the Team Valley Trading Estate. If you are coming along you will be sent joining instructions by e-mail.

The workshop doesn't assume any prior knowledge of Health Needs Assessment, but if you want to read a brief introductory paper before the morning, follow the link below. The paper includes some local examples of Health Needs Assessments.

Health Needs Assessment - An Essential Tool for Health Service Planning and Commissioning

Download file - Health Needs Assessment in Gateshead