Dr David Smart
Minutes:
Dr David Smart introduced himself as a retired GP and a Champion of Action 4 Happiness. He asked whether there were any particular points they wanted covered.
A question was asked whether it was true more women developed dementia than men. Dr Smart responded that Dementia was a condition of older age and women tend to live longer than men so, statistically, more women tend to develop dementia. Do what you can do to keep your cardio vascular system in good health.
John Rawlings asked about loneliness – with many widows and widowers living alone must be quite high for mental health problems. Dr Smart responded that loneliness definitely had an effect on mental health. One of the 10 keys of happiness was relationships, a befriending service was being rolled out across the county. Carl added that in rural communities it was likely to be higher. Another of the keys was giving – this could be volunteering time in the community which would also help recognise who the vulnerable residents were.
Beverley stated that the Welfare Reform 2015 and DWP changes saw many people having money taken away from them with a perceived link to suicide yet suicide was not just an austerity problem. Dr Smart said that poverty was the biggest issue that Public Health needed to address as a national body. There is little more important than housing and feeding oneself and family, that, along with safety forms the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It can lead to eventual suicide but there were also depression and mental health disorders and unless these are seriously addressed there would be little impact. Karl added that he had just come from the Poverty Truth Commission meeting and some of the stories were simply horrendous.
Dr Smart explained that people had been affected by Covid Syndemic – where an infectious disorder interacts with non-infectious conditions as shown in a slide on page 4 of the slides.
Another slide (page 5) showed the 2008 Foresight. How nutrition matters, now early trauma impacts massively on mental health. Those with good mental health were 50% less likely to catch a cold or have cardiovascular event, 35% reduction in risk of death and significantly better overall health. Exercise in the morning reduces cortisol, the main stress hormone, this is evidence based and shows vast benefits especially in older age. Also see pages 11 and 12.
The 10 keys of happiness are evidence based, it is a national movement - Happier Kinder Together | Action for Happiness and there is a local hub at Delapre Abbey.
The 10 Keys are:-
Giving – doing things for others
Relating – connect with people
Exercising – take care of your body
Awareness – live life mindfully
Trying out – keep learning new things
Direction – have goals to look forward to
Resilience – find ways to bounce back
Emotions – look for what’s good
Acceptance – be comfortable with who you are
Meaning – be part of something bigger
There was engagement at different levels:-
1. Viewing of the Action 4 Happiness calendars
2. Expert talks with international experts
3. Online coaching course
4. Happiness courses digitally and happy cafes to visit
5. Volunteer passport and champion training.
People’s needs were shown on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – housing was 1 of the foundation needs and people struggling with abusive relationships, if they could not afford their own accommodation were often stuck where they were. GP’s were not the answer as all they could realistically do was to prescribe medication. The answer lay more in the community and social prescribing. Rashmi added that loneliness went deeper than just meeting with someone. Accessibility and culture differences also added complications. Resources needed to be shared across the county and not just go to those who shouted the loudest.
Nick added that he backed up what Dr Smart was saying and he had lived experience of problems related to access to services. Initially when he had been diagnosed with complex PTSD he expected the NHS to fix him with absolutely no awareness that he had control himself and so many cultures will not even speak about mental health. This needs to change and more community support groups but there isn’t enough funding. Dr Smart said it was really good to have Nick on board especially for men’s mental health as women were 3 times more likely to open up and seek help. Community groups matter and he encouraged the group to campaign for personal health budgets where the patient can decide how the money is spent.
Cllr Chantler stated that he represented a rural area and farmers, who by the nature of their job, worked alone for long periods in isolation, and approximately 25% were below the poverty line. Many farmers were lost to suicide, people suffered abuse many not making contact for support.
Emma stated she was working with Rachel Travers to set up more happy cafes there were also about 20 Good Neighbour Schemes across the county.
Carl asked about suicide statistics. Dr Smart replied the data he had was from the coroner’s office and men were more likely to use violent means. People expressed inner pain in different ways with self-harm being one of those and it could be the inability to get needs met in another way.
Graeme added that physical activity was far more than about getting fit and helped improve mental health. Northants Sport were also based at Delapre Abbey and organise a lot of group activities which could be an agenda item for a later meeting. Rasmi replied that it was a chicken and egg situation as if many people didn’t get financial support with transport they could not get to activities and often initiatives to help them were not sustainable.