Health Management and Policy Alert

Learning from the community response to Covid-19: how the NHS can support communities to keep people well

The Health Creation Alliance - 
This report considers what all community-facing NHS organisations can learn from the community response to Covid-19. The report outlines practical guidance and recommendations to help build a future where people are at the heart of keeping communities well.

• Report

Making vaccination a condition of deployment in older adult care homes

Department of Health and Social Care -
To increase vaccine take up among staff working in care homes, the government is considering amending the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This would mean older adult care home providers could only use those staff who have received the Covid-19 vaccination (or those with a legitimate medical exemption) in line with government guidance. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 21 May 2021.

• Consultation
• Department of Health and Social Care - consultations

Levelling up health

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity - 

This report states that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the United Kingdom, exposing the nation’s poor health and health inequalities - ninety per cent of those who died with Covid had significant prior poor health. The report explains why a new healthcare system is essential to confront how unhealthy the UK population is. It proposes a ten year health improvement plan, and new health improvement fund, a shift in political attitudes that have impeded progress, clear priorities for action and the need to challenge and change organisations that harm children and health.

• Report
• More detail

A record of our own: lockdown experiences of ethnic minority prisoners

Zahid Mubarek Trust - 

The report reveals the impact of the first six months of Covid-19 restrictions on ethnic minority prisoners and their families. These restrictions have effectively reduced the spread of Covid-19 and saved lives, but they have also had profoundly affected prisoners’ mental health.

• Report
• More detail

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: the report

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities -
This report includes a chapter on health which looks at life expectancy, cancer, diabetes, obesity, maternal mortality as well as access to health care, Covid-19 and more.

• Report
• Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities - publications

Preventing suicide in England: fifth progress report of the cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - 
This report details the steps taken to reduce deaths by suicide since 2019. It sets out the data and evidence on suicide and self-harm; the progress made against existing commitments designed to prevent suicides and self-harm; and further actions for government and its agencies, particularly in the context of Covid-19.

• Report

Transforming the public health system: reforming the public health system for the challenges of our times

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - 
This policy document sets out reforms to the public health system in England to transform our national health protection capabilities, put health promotion at the heart of government, and more deeply embed prevention and health improvement expertise across local and national government and the NHS.

• Policy

The cost of smoking to the social care system

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) - 
This report finds that on average smokers in England need care when they are 63, ten years sooner than non-smokers. It estimates that £1.2 billion a year is spent on people who have care needs as a result of smoking. It calls for more comprehensive tobacco control strategies in order to ease the pressure on the social care system.

• Report
• Press release

The data divide: public attitudes to tackling social and health inequalities in the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond

Ada Lovelace Institute - 

As part of a partnership with the Health Foundation exploring how the accelerated adoption of data-driven technologies and systems during the pandemic may have affected inequalities, the Ada Lovelace Institute commissioned Survation to conduct a telephone-based, nationally representative survey of 2,023 UK British adults, to explore public attitudes towards a range of technologies deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic for health outcomes, including mental and physical-health apps, symptom-tracking apps, digital contact-tracing apps and vaccine passports.

• Report
• More detail

Securing our health : the UK Health Security Agency

Department of Health and Social Care - 

Following on from the publication of ‘The future of public health: the NIHP and other public health functions’ in September 2020, this policy paper sets out more detail on the government’s plans for protecting and securing the public’s health, including on the new UK Health Security Agency (previously called the National Institute for Health Protection). The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will be formally established from April 2021 and will combine the capabilities of PHE and NHS Test and Trace. The UKHSA will bring together our national public health science and response capabilities, including cutting edge analytics and genomic surveillance, strengthening national defences against all health hazards.

• Policy paper
• More detail