Quarterly News from the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit WHIASU Overview and Update Autumn 2015 During 2015, the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit (WHIASU) has built on progress made over recent years advocating for, training and supporting health impact assessments (HIA) in Wales. This has resulted in an increased number of training sessions and Rapid Assessments and a burgeoning number of HIAs completed, many of which are published on the WHIASU website. The Unit is now fully integrated into Public Health Wales (PHW), as part of the Policy, Research and International Development Directorate but still retains academic links to Cardiff, Bangor and Glyndwr Universities. At a local level, the Unit continues to provide advice, guidance and support to local authorities, Local Health Boards (LHBs) and voluntary and community groups interested in developing local HIA and integration tools. Some local authorities are already progressing with embedding impact assessment, including HIA, in the organisational processes and systems. The introduction of the Wellbeing of the Future Generations (Wales) Act (FGA) 2015 provides further opportunity for public bodies to incorporate HIAs in their work, thereby helping them to deliver on the requirements of the Act. . At a national level, WHIASU continues to liaise with its strategic partners including Welsh Government, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (Wales Directorate), Sports Wales and Natural Resources Wales and is leading the development of several Public Health Wales resources to practically support practitioners and policy makers in the delivery of HIA and ‘Health in All Policies’ in Wales, and specifically to support the introduction of the FGA. Internationally, the Unit is highly respected and has delivered presentations at several national and international conferences such as the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA) Conference in April 2015 and the Community Housing Cymru Conference in May 2015. Liz Green has also been asked to speak at the World Health Organisation (WHO) ‘Health in Environmental Assessment’ Technical Meeting in Bonn in September 2015. More information about the Unit’s achievements and work is listed in more detail below.
Policy and Guidance Update NHS Wales Infrastructure Guidance The Welsh Government and NHS Wales have recently published the NHS Wales Infrastructure Investment Guidance. Section 2.5 of the Guidance states that: “The Welsh Government supports the use of HIA as part of the evidence to justify infrastructure investment proposals”.
Therefore HIA is now a mandatory part of all Business Case submissions for NHS Infrastructure. HIA can enable NHS planners to ensure that any new NHS infrastructure addresses health inequalities within their target populations and also to ensure that any changes to services avoid potential negative impacts and maximize opportunities for positive impact. The process can also support integrated working by engaging cross sector colleagues in an HIA early on the planning process. WHIASU are happy to provide advice and guidance about using HIA as part of NHS programmes. Please contact us to discuss further. Upcoming changes to the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment – future opportunities for HIA? The revised EU EIA Directive (2014/52/EU) includes requirements to consider the direct and indirect significant effects of projects on ‘population and human health’. This article from Paul Johnson in a Town and Country Planning special issue on “Reuniting Planning with Health” provides a good briefing on some of the possible opportunities. Member States must apply these rules from 16 May 2017 at the latest.
Current HIAs in Practice in Wales The Health Disability Sports Partnership in North Wales The Health Disability Sports Partnership was established to increase the number of physically active disabled people in North Wales and to create a robust partnership and pathway between the health and disability sports sectors. It is a partnership between Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Disability Sport Wales. In May this year the project lead Catherine Chin conducted a HIA on the project with support from WHIASU. The full HIA report can be downloaded from here. Read more about Catherine’s experience and evaluation of using HIA here. Actif Woods – Piloting the HIA Screening Tool for environmental projects developed in partnership with Natural Resources Wales Since 2014 WHIASU has been working with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to develop a HIA screening toolkit for environmental projects. Actif Woods Wales is a project run by Coed Lleol since 2010 and is part funded by NRW. It aims to improve health and well-being in people living with chronic health conditions, by facilitating physical activity in local woodlands thereby reducing stress and providing opportunities for exercise and social interaction. Actif Woods were involved in the early stages of developing the toolkit and decided to use the pilot version to help them plan the next phase of their project and review their approach to evaluation. In June WHIASU co-facilitated a screening workshop with Actif Woods’s staff. Read about the findings and outcomes here in this short case study. Other recently completed HIAs in Brief
North Denbighshire Healthcare Services - Wellbeing Impact Assessment as part of Outline Business Case. Draft Housing Strategy – Denbighshire County Council
Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council Community Navigator Project – implementation stage of project, completed and reported Abergele South East Development Brief – Supplementary Planning Guidance (Conwy County Borough Council) completed and contributing to wider consultation and insight to inform the final version of the development brief Erias Park Health Precinct - Conwy County Borough Council doesn’t explain what this is Tre Cwm Regeneration Project- Cartrefi Conwy – HIA as part of the development for environmental improvements on their housing estates. Bridgend Local Transport Plan – Bridgend County Borough Council
WHIASU Publications Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment WHIASU have published a briefing paper about Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment. See below for training opportunities. Fracking Liz Green from WHIASU has recently had a chapter published in a book on unconventional shale gas extraction or “fracking”. ‘The Importance of health impact assessments’ is Chapter 4 in ‘The Human and Environmental Impact of Fracking: How Fracturing Shale for Gas Affects Us and Our World’ edited by Professor Madelon Finkel, Cornell Medical School and is published by Praeger Press (2015). Housing and Health A reminder that we have an Evidence Review on Housing and Health available on our website. Coming Soon: Look out for publications on “Health in All Policies” and “The Health and Wellbeing Impact of Waste Management Technologies”, which will be published later this year.
WHIASU Partnerships Chartered Institute of Environmental Health WHIASU are pleased that our partnership working with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) continues to grow. In the past year, 46 Environmental Health Officers from across Wales have participated in our two day HIA Competency Course, accredited by the CIEH. As part of their coursework EHOs have completed Rapid HIAs on a wide range of very interesting topics including reconfiguration of local schools, planning consent for fast food premises and energy from waste facilities. Evaluation from participants has been very positive: “The use of a co-ordinated HIA can help me proactively think about a number of issues that can arise from a development”. “HIAs make you think of wider implications and also if done early can drastically reduce problems and therefore time dealing with problems”
Training WHIASU have a full training programme planned for Autumn 2015. Please click on the links below to find out more: HIA Competency Course, 2 days, in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Neath Port Talbot, starts September 3rd. Contact Gail Gerrard for more information Introduction to Health Impact Assessment - half day, 11th November, Cardiff Introduction to Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment - half day, October 1st, Cardiff Introduction to Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment - half day, October 15th, St. Asaph Comprehensive HIA course in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. This is a 3 day course which will be completed over 6 months starting from November 25th 2015.
Evidence resources Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England have recently published “A guide to communitycentred approaches for health and wellbeing”.The guide provides a useful overview of a range of community centred approaches, as well as the evidence and outcomes of these. ‘Natural Solutions to Tackling Health Inequalities’ report from the Institute of Health Equity highlights the evidence of the benefits of green spaces to health and wellbeing outcomes, and the inequalities in use of, and access to, natural environments across England. A new research review has been published by Active Living Research examining the evidence on the relationship between physical activity levels and the public’s perceived aesthetics, safety and comfort of public spaces.
WHIASU Services We offer a range of services which are all designed to support people and organisations in Wales to use Health Impact Assessment effectively. We can provide:
Training and capacity building in HIA across sectors Advice and information on applying HIA in practice Mentoring and practical support in planning and carrying out an HIA Advice over the telephone, email or in person Support with Quality Assuring HIAs and finding relevant evidence for HIAs
Contact us Liz.Green@wales.nhs.uk Principal Health Impact Assessment Development Officer Based in Wrexham Tel: 01978 313 664 Lee.ParryWilliams@wales.nhs.uk Senior Public Health Practitioner (Policy and Impact Assessment) Based in Mold Tel: 01352 803482 Nerys.S.Edmonds@wales.nhs.uk Public Health Practitioner (Policy and Impact Assessment) Based in Cardiff Tel: 02921 841744