Health Management and Policy Alert

Where does specialist public health sit across the UK?

Association of Directors of Public Health -
There are four nations in the UK, three Crown Dependencies and 14 UK overseas territories. Public health functions look very different across these 21 administrations. This explainer aims to provide an overview of where functions sit in different nations.

• Briefing
• Association of Directors of Public Health - publications

Alcohol treatment services

House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts - 
This report finds that an estimated ten million people in England regularly exceed the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, including 1.7 million who drink at higher risk and around 600,000 who are dependent on alcohol. It says that 82 per cent of those 600,000 dependent drinkers in England are not in treatment despite success rates of around 60 per cent and evidence that, on average, every £1 spent on treatment immediately delivers £3 of benefit and significantly more in the longer term. It finds that there has been an increase in alcohol-related deaths, which rose by 89 per cent over the past twenty years, with sharp rises since 2019.

• Report
• House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts - news

UKHSA science strategy 2023 to 2033: securing health and prosperity

UK Health Security Agency -
This report outlines the scientific assets, capabilities and ambitions of the UK Health Security Agency, and the plan to protect the nation’s health from current and future health threats.

• Report
• UK Health Security Agency - publications

Active and healthy counties: encouraging, supporting and enabling residents to live healthy lives

County Councils Network - 
This report finds that the number of adults in England’s county areas who are overweight or obese has increased by 1.1m in county and rural areas since 2015. It sets out the scale of the challenge for county councils and unitary councils in counties and also highlights what those local authorities are doing to encourage healthier and more active lives from their residents across 16 best practice case studies. It is released ten years since public health functions were transferred from the NHS to local government. It says that as providers of public health services, as well as being responsible for leisure centres and active travel infrastructure such as cycle lanes, councils are best placed to engage with communities to support and enable residents to live healthier lives.

• Report
• County Council Networks - press release

 

Unpicking the inequalities in the elective backlogs in England

The King's Fund - 
As part of a new research project that explores how NHS providers and integrated care systems (ICSs) are approaching inclusive recovery, The King's Fund have found that, in 2022, people in the most deprived areas were twice as likely to be waiting more than a year for elective care compared to people in the least deprived areas. This paper explores three big questions health and care leaders should be asking themselves and their teams about inequalities in their elective backlog: how are we measuring inequalities and why, do we know why inequalities exist, and how will we know if things are improving?

• The King's Fund - publications

Diabetes care: is it fair enough?

Diabetes UK - 
People with diabetes can expect to receive routine diabetes care, which includes a series of checks every year for things such as blood sugar and blood pressure. Receiving these checks is shown to reduce the risk of complications such as heart disease, hospitalisation and premature death. This report reveals that less than half (47 per cent) of people living with diabetes in England received all eight of their required checks in 2021-22, meaning 1.9 million people did not receive the care they need. It also raises concerns about health inequalities across England, with people from the poorest areas struggling most to access vital services. It calls for urgent action to address the routine diabetes care backlog and prevent avoidable deaths of people living with diabetes.

• Report
• Diabetes UK - news

The preventative state: rebuilding our local, social and civic foundations

Demos - 

This essay makes the case for a new paradigm in public services, that puts prevention first. It argues that there needs to be investment in foundational support for neighbourhoods, a move towards more relational public services and that reactive public services aren’t just servicing problems, but trying to prevent them from happening again.

• Essay
• More detail

Health equity North 2023

Health Equity North - 
This report finds a pattern of lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and worse health and wellbeing in the North of England. It provides a snapshot of the health issues facing the North and adds to a growing body of evidence highlighting the urgent need to address regional health inequalities and improve productivity in the North.

• Report
• Health Equity North - news

Tackling obesity: improving policy making on food and health

Institute for Government - 
This report finds that every government since 1992 has missed targets to reduce obesity – with the UK’s rising obesity rates harming people’s health and life opportunities, burdening the NHS and damaging the economy. It tries to identify the reasons behind these policy failures and sets out how to make progress. It finds that tackling obesity has suffered from ministers fearing the perception of nanny statism, despite there being public support for ambitious measures. It details how, over three decades, there have been at least 14 strategies, hundreds of policies, and a succession of institutional reforms, with key agencies and teams created and then abolished.

• ReportPublish
• Institute for Government - publications

Offline and isolated: the impact of digital exclusion on access to healthcare for people seeking asylum in England

British Red Cross - 

This report finds that people seeking asylum in England are at risk of missing out on basic healthcare services because they have limited access to the internet and digital tools. Using a peer research approach, where refugees who have been through the asylum process interviewed people seeking asylum, the report provides a detailed picture of the barriers to online healthcare services. It highlights several barriers, including the affordability of devices and mobile data, a lack of Wi-Fi in asylum accommodation, and a lack of confidence in using technology and navigating websites in English.

• Report
• More detail