The NHS needs radical localism to improve public health: Public Health England will support local government and the NHS by providing expert knowledge, research and know-how
Further improvements to our nation's health can only become a reality through localism.
As a population we are getting older and increasingly suffering from chronic disease, and despite the best efforts of the NHS this requires a more radical response. The NHS cannot solve this alone. The solutions are about so much more than health services – the places we live, the start we get in life, the opportunities that come along and the choices we make. That's why it's vital that we make the most of the chance we have been given to make a difference now, with local government taking the lead.
We cannot afford to pour more and more resource into treating the outcomes of unhealthy lifestyles – diabetes, heart disease, cancer, liver disease and the causes of the health inequalities we have in our communities. We have to take action at the very heart, in local communities and the places where people live their lives.
Under the health reforms, local government assumes a legal duty to improve health. Making positive differences to people's everyday life will not come from grand strategy or direction from Whitehall but in the choices ordinary people make about their health and how they are supported locally. Local government already focus on people and place and hold many of the levers for promoting wellbeing – no-one else is better placed to improve the public's health and narrow the gap in health inequalities.
Local government also holds the ring on health and wellbeing boards, which will be a genuinely joint forum, bringing together clinical commissioning groups and elected members. Between them they know their local populations inside out and so are best placed to assess their needs and decide together what needs to be done to meet them – not just in health but right across housing, education, transport, planning, etc – everything that can make a difference. Along with the responsibility, local government is also getting money and people to tackle public health concerns, with directors of public health and their teams moving across from the NHS – never enough, but nonetheless a significant contribution at a time of continuing pressures on council budgets.
Public Health England (PHE), which will come into force in April 2013, will have an important role in supporting local government and the local NHS by providing the expert knowledge, science and research and practical know-how. We are not there to performance manage local government but we have been tasked with giving strategic leadership and vision for the protection and improvement of the nation's health.
That is why it will be our job to ask questions. We will provide the narrative and data about what's going on locally, explaining this in a clear and relevant way and gathering and sharing the evidence openly and widely about what works. We will also encourage and support creative solutions and innovation in local areas and make it easier to share the learning.
Important as legal duties, processes and systems are they do not of themselves secure improving health outcomes. I have been meeting many people across the country to build our understanding of how Public Health England can best contribute. The commitment to local action led by local government is absolute and our objective is to support this in every way we can. Everywhere I have gone, I have been inspired by the innovation, vision and commitment of all involved.
For example, in Blackburn with Darwen, I saw how the borough council are working together with their partner Clinical Commissioning Group. Despite facing major challenges of deprivation and inequality, they are providing free use of leisure facilities to encourage people to exercise, offering a first aid support service to people with mental health problems by training volunteers in how to support them; and giving a central role to community pharmacists – who are open all hours and often have the time to listen and give advice on issues like obesity and smoking.
PHE exists to protect and improve the nation's health and we will be held accountable for this by local and national government. None of us can succeed in this task without each other. That's why localism is the best way forward for public health. Duncan Selbie is chief executive designate of Public Health England
The Guardian
Further improvements to our nation's health can only become a reality through localism.
As a population we are getting older and increasingly suffering from chronic disease, and despite the best efforts of the NHS this requires a more radical response. The NHS cannot solve this alone. The solutions are about so much more than health services – the places we live, the start we get in life, the opportunities that come along and the choices we make. That's why it's vital that we make the most of the chance we have been given to make a difference now, with local government taking the lead.
We cannot afford to pour more and more resource into treating the outcomes of unhealthy lifestyles – diabetes, heart disease, cancer, liver disease and the causes of the health inequalities we have in our communities. We have to take action at the very heart, in local communities and the places where people live their lives.
Under the health reforms, local government assumes a legal duty to improve health. Making positive differences to people's everyday life will not come from grand strategy or direction from Whitehall but in the choices ordinary people make about their health and how they are supported locally. Local government already focus on people and place and hold many of the levers for promoting wellbeing – no-one else is better placed to improve the public's health and narrow the gap in health inequalities.
Local government also holds the ring on health and wellbeing boards, which will be a genuinely joint forum, bringing together clinical commissioning groups and elected members. Between them they know their local populations inside out and so are best placed to assess their needs and decide together what needs to be done to meet them – not just in health but right across housing, education, transport, planning, etc – everything that can make a difference. Along with the responsibility, local government is also getting money and people to tackle public health concerns, with directors of public health and their teams moving across from the NHS – never enough, but nonetheless a significant contribution at a time of continuing pressures on council budgets.
Public Health England (PHE), which will come into force in April 2013, will have an important role in supporting local government and the local NHS by providing the expert knowledge, science and research and practical know-how. We are not there to performance manage local government but we have been tasked with giving strategic leadership and vision for the protection and improvement of the nation's health.
That is why it will be our job to ask questions. We will provide the narrative and data about what's going on locally, explaining this in a clear and relevant way and gathering and sharing the evidence openly and widely about what works. We will also encourage and support creative solutions and innovation in local areas and make it easier to share the learning.
Important as legal duties, processes and systems are they do not of themselves secure improving health outcomes. I have been meeting many people across the country to build our understanding of how Public Health England can best contribute. The commitment to local action led by local government is absolute and our objective is to support this in every way we can. Everywhere I have gone, I have been inspired by the innovation, vision and commitment of all involved.
For example, in Blackburn with Darwen, I saw how the borough council are working together with their partner Clinical Commissioning Group. Despite facing major challenges of deprivation and inequality, they are providing free use of leisure facilities to encourage people to exercise, offering a first aid support service to people with mental health problems by training volunteers in how to support them; and giving a central role to community pharmacists – who are open all hours and often have the time to listen and give advice on issues like obesity and smoking.
PHE exists to protect and improve the nation's health and we will be held accountable for this by local and national government. None of us can succeed in this task without each other. That's why localism is the best way forward for public health. Duncan Selbie is chief executive designate of Public Health England
The Guardian
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