South West London CCG Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21

Merton Merton’s population of 206,000 is growing, with an increasing number of older people and an increasing number of patients with complex needs and multiple co- morbidities. People in Merton live longer than the national average, though there are inequalities within the borough with people in East Merton having worse health and shorter lives than people in West Merton. Merton has more patients admitted to hospital as an emergency following a fall than the London average, and more people diagnosed with dementia. Adults in Merton tend to exercise less than people from other boroughs. The key challenges we are working to address in Merton are: • A single directory for health and wellbeing for residents and front-line staff. 32% of children and young people surveyed in 2019 were worried about the mental health of their friends 1,700 children with an Education, Health and Care Plan or Statement of Special Education Needs of children did not achieve the ‘school readiness’ standard 25 % people living with common mental health conditions 25,000 11,000 people diagnosed with diabetes 6.2 years gap in life expectancy between the most deprived and least deprived areas people in Merton living with dementia 1,700 adults aged 18 and over with social care needs 4,000 Merton currently supports around carers 17,000 • Creating a network of ‘connectors’ to link patients to wellbeing services and activities, supporting the wide community of people providing health and wellbeing advice. • Developing skills for health and care staff to encourage users of services to engage in healthy lifestyles and support people to change their behaviour where required. • Delivering healthy workplaces, supporting our workforce to have good health and wellbeing, knowing that this is good for them, and those they support. • Embedding healthy lifestyles in clinical pathways. Read more about the health and wellbeing needs of people in Merton and our plans to develop services for people in Merton at www.swlondonccg.nhs.uk/your-area/merton/ merton-our-plans Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 | 19