Health Management and Policy Alert

Housing our ageing population

Local Government Association -
This report makes a number of recommendations to government on how we can best meet the needs of people in later life with case studies demonstrating how councils are addressing the housing needs of an ageing population. It highlights how the suitability of the housing stock is of critical importance to the health of individuals and impacts on public spending, particularly adult social care, and the NHS.

• Local Government Association - publications

Reimagining health: a framing paper

Reform - 

In its early years, the National Health Service proved visionary. It provided high-quality care to meet the dominant needs of the population it served: timely, universal access to episodic, acute treatment. However, the structures and institutions designed to meet the challenges of the post-war world are not equipped to deal with current and future health challenges. Reform's new programme of work on 'Reimagining health' seeks to explore how to transform our approach to health. This framing paper sets out the case for change and identifies areas Reform wishes to explore in its research programme.

• Paper
• More detail

Rehabilitation, recovery and reducing health inequity: easing the pain

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy -
This report outlines how people in marginalised groups and communities, such as those from ethnic minorities, are not only more likely to live shorter lives but spend a greater proportion of their lives struggling with health difficulties and disabilities. It highlights how some vital services that could tackle those inequities are either unavailable or poorly equipped to meet their needs.

• Report
• Chartered Society of Physiotherapy - news

The good childhood report 2022

The Children's Society -
This report aims to show the latest trends in children's well-being. This year’s report shows that around 1 in 16 children (6 per cent) aged 10 to 15 in the UK are unhappy with their lives, and almost 1 in 8 (12 per cent), an estimated 562,000 of 10-15 year olds, are unhappy with school. It finds that the current cost of living crisis is having a significant effect on families, with 85 per cent of parents and carers surveyed in 2022 saying they are concerned about how it will affect their families in the next year, especially as over a third of parents and carers reported they already struggled with costs of school trips and uniform over the last year.

• Report
• The Children's Society - publications

A new way of working: ending rough sleeping together - progress report

The Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping -
This report assesses the steps made towards ending rough sleeping in England and considers the impact of the current economic crisis. It tracks the progress against its original recommendations made last September - grading them as green, amber or red – as well as providing an updated set of recommendations reflecting the present cost of living emergency.

• Report
• The Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping - press release

Barriers and opportunities: improving access to mental health support for refugees and people seeking asylum

British Red Cross -
This report explores access to and experience of mental health support for refugees and people seeking asylum in England. It finds a need for a person-centred, trauma-informed approach where the specific needs of the individual are considered and most appropriate mental health support is offered. It also details an opportunity to improve communication with refugees and people seeking asylum in the provision of mental health support including longer appointment times to overcome language barriers, preference for face-to-face appointments, written and translated communication and consistent access to professional interpreters.

• Report
• British Red Cross - publications

Fuel poverty, cold homes and health inequalities in the UK

Institute of Health Equity -
This report reviews the evidence on both the direct and indirect impacts of fuel poverty and cold homes on health; the inequalities in who this effects the most, and the relation between health inequalities and climate change. It makes the case for prioritising reducing fuel poverty through policy suggestions at both the national and local level.

• Report
• Institute of Health Equity - publications

Life changing care: the role, gaps and solutions in providing social care to people experiencing homelessness

St Mungo’s  - 

This report examines the provision of care services for people who have been homeless and finds they are missing out on the care they need and deserve because of a lack of specialist provision. People who have experienced homelessness often have multiple and complex health conditions, which can result in their care needs being much higher and more prevalent at an earlier age, than the general population. The report makes eight recommendations about how to improve the current situation.

• Report
• More detail

Working in partnership: creating an effective rough sleeper strategy

Local Government Association - 

On 19 May 2022 over 30 councils attended a morning roundtable to discuss their priorities for the new rough sleeping strategy, due to be released later in the year. The roundtable was broken up into three workshops to look at what central government, local government and the third sector can do to help end rough sleeping.

• Report

The continuing impact of Covid-19 on health and inequalities

The Health Foundation - 

This long read revisits the conclusions of The Health Foundation's Covid-19 impact inquiry, published in July 2021, to consider the further direct impact of Covid-19 on health outcomes and the broader implications for health and the wider determinants. It also discusses the extent to which previously highlighted risks to health have been addressed and the implications for the country of ‘living with Covid-19’.

• Long read