The Slough Health & Wellbeing Board convened to discuss several key public health initiatives and strategic plans for the borough. Councillor Dexter J. Smith, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Law & Governance, Strategy, Improvement & HR, was scheduled to chair the meeting. The agenda included updates on health protection, suicide prevention, the development of a joint local health and wellbeing strategy, an update from the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB), and an autism strategy implementation.

Slough Joint Local Health & Wellbeing Strategy

The board was to consider a draft of the Slough Joint Local Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026-2036 and a consultation plan. Charlotte Littlemore, Public Health Programme Manager, was scheduled to present the draft strategy, which outlines a vision for creating a healthy, thriving Slough for everyone.

The draft strategy was structured around three core drivers:

• People at the centre
• Prevention
• Growing the health and wellbeing system with Slough in mind

The document included a draft vision infographic, outlining what 'thriving in Slough' would look like across the life course:

• Start Well: Children, young people and families will have a good foundation for life.
• Live Well: Adults will find it easier to live well and thrive.
• Age Well: Older adults will stay well for longer.
• Healthy Place: Slough will be a place where families and communities can live well and thrive.

The report pack included a proposed mixed-methods consultation plan to gather feedback on the draft strategy. The consultation period was scheduled to last four weeks and include:

• An online consultation via the Slough Citizen Space portal
• Outreach engagement sessions with system partners
• A coordinated online communications campaign across social media platforms, resident newsletters, and internal Slough Borough Council channels

NHS Frimley ICB Update

Martha Earley, Associate Director of Place, Frimley ICB, was scheduled to provide an update from the NHS Frimley ICB. The update included a discussion of the proposed merger of the NHS Frimley ICB and NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Berkshire West (BOB) ICB to form a new Thames Valley ICB.

The report pack included a Joint Transition Stakeholder Information Pack, which stated that the new ICB would strengthen and accelerate integration across the geography:

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT), a mental health and community provider, operates across all Berkshire.

Other services e.g. urgent dental care, specialist dental care for paediatrics and talking therapies are also provided

The pack stated that the new ICB would aim to align with the Model ICB Blueprint and NHS 10 Year Health Plan, operating efficiently within the £19.00 per head allocation, with functions aligned to strategic commissioning aims.

Health Protection Update

Sarah Rayfield, Consultant in Public Health, was scheduled to present a report outlining key health protection issues for Slough and provide an update on work underway to mitigate them.

The report identified vaccine preventable diseases as a key health protection risk, noting that measles cases continue to occur nationally and that MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) vaccination rates in Slough are lower than both the England average and the UKHSA national target of 95%. The report also noted that uptake of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination programme across Frimley ICB is lower than the South East average.

The report also highlighted that Slough has the highest incidence of TB across the South East, with a rate of 33 per 100,000 in 2024, and that there was an identified cluster of TB among the drug user community in Slough in May 2025.

The report stated that the rate of sexually transmitted Shigella infections has been increasing in Slough since 2021, particularly in men, and that new STI diagnoses (excluding chlamydia aged 24 and under) have been showing an increasing trend in Slough with 472 per 100,000 diagnoses in 2024.

The report also noted that there had been one yellow alert and four amber alerts issued for heatwaves in the South East between 17 June 2025 and 15 August 2025.

Suicide Prevention in Slough

Sarah Rayfield, Consultant in Public Health, Slough Borough Council, was also scheduled to present a report providing an overview of local suicide prevention work in Slough and how the local work aligns with wider Berkshire level initiatives.

The report noted that during 2021-23, the suicide rate in Slough was 10.7 deaths per 100,000 (40 deaths in total), similar to the rate for England at 11.0 deaths per 100,000. It also stated that data provided by Thames Valley Police indicated that there were 8 deaths by suspected suicide in Slough in 2024/25.

The report pack noted that the Slough Suicide Prevention Group was re-established in January 2025, and that the aims and objectives of the group are in line with the national Suicide Prevention Strategy and work is directed by an action plan which aligns with delivery of the Berkshire Suicide Prevention Strategy 2021- 2026.

Autism Strategy Implementation

David Coleman-Groom, Director of Adult Social Care, was scheduled to present a report on the implementation of the Slough Adult Autism Strategy 2024-2029.

The report stated that whilst 0.7% of Slough's population is currently estimated to be autistic (1,076 adults), this is projected to grow to 1,200 by 2040, and that this population growth is likely to be accompanied by significant health inequalities.

The report noted that the Autism Steering Group was established in May 2024 to deliver the Action Plan included with the Adult Autism Strategy 2024-2029, and that Slough Autism Together (SAT) – formerly the Autism Community Coffee Group - was established in December 2024 to provide a dedicated space for autistic people to meet monthly and work on peer-led initiatives to make Slough more autism-friendly.

Annual Health & Wellbeing Report 2024-25

The board was scheduled to approve the Slough Health & Wellbeing Board Annual Report 2024-2025. The report described progress on strategic health and wellbeing priorities and delivery plans, and how they are addressing local population needs and supporting the integration of health and social care.

The report noted that the Health & Wellbeing Board had been reinvigorated with new Terms of Reference, membership, meeting formats and schedules, and that the membership had been widened to reflect the Board's view that action on the wider determinants of health is essential for health improvement.

The report stated that the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy was reviewed in 2024 and the Board agreed to retain the 2021-26 strategy and its priorities and to refresh the action plans.

Action Plan Updates

The report pack included an action plan progress report.