Health Management and Policy Alert

Shifting the centre of gravity: making place-based, person-centred health and care a reality

Local Government Association -
The examples in this report aim to show what can be achieved by system leaders and staff from local government, the NHS, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, and service user and carer groups working together to improve health and deliver person-centred care.

• Report
• Local Government Association - publications

Health matters: air pollution

Public Health England -
This resource focuses on air pollution and discusses how local authorities, supported by national policies, have an important role in assessing and improving local air quality - and how the cumulative effects of local action can be significant. It will be of particular value to local authority commissioners, directors of public health, environmental health officers, health and wellbeing boards, CCGs and health professionals.

• Guidance
• Public Health England - publications

Understanding the health care needs of people with multiple health conditions

The Health Foundation - 

Analysis of data from 2014 to 2016 for 300,000 people in England found that one in four adults had two or more health conditions, equating to approximately 14.2 million people in England. Over half (55 per cent) of hospital admissions and outpatient visits and three quarters (75 per cent) of primary care prescriptions are for people living with two or more conditions. In the least-deprived fifth of areas, people can expect to have two or more conditions by the time they are 71 years old, but in the most-deprived fifth, people reach the same level of illness a decade earlier, at 61 years of age.

• Briefing
• More detail

LGBT in Britain: health report

Stonewall - 

Stonewall commissioned YouGov to carry out a survey asking more than 5,000 lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) people across England, Scotland and Wales about their life in Britain today. This report, part of a series based on the research, looks at mental health and well-being of LGBT people and investigates the specific experiences of LGBT people when accessing healthcare services. This study shows the rates of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions among LGBT people. It also looks into the accessibility of healthcare services and discrimination LGBT people face when seeking medical support.

• Report
• Press release

Suicide prevention

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence -
NICE are consulting on a quality standard which will cover ways to reduce suicide and help people bereaved or affected by suicides in community and custodial settings. It does not cover national strategies, general mental wellbeing, or areas covered by other NICE quality standards such as self-harm or mental health conditions. The closing date for comments is 26 November 2018.

• Consultation documents
• NICE - project information and supporting documents

Prevention is better than cure: our vision to help you live well for longer

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The document sets out the government’s vision for stopping health problems from arising in the first place and supporting people to manage their health problems when they do arise. The goal is to improve healthy life expectancy by at least five extra years, by 2035, and to close the gap between the richest and poorest.

• Report
• More detail
• Press release

A society of readers

Demos - 

Demos carried out research over the summer of 2018 to assess the potential impact of reading on several great challenges of our time: loneliness, mental health problems, dementia and social (im)mobility.

• Report
• Press release

How do we include health inequality impacts in economic analysis of policy options?

Centre for Health Economics -
This briefing introduces the health equity impact plane – a simple visual tool for clarifying the relationship between cost-effectiveness and equity impact. The equity impact plane can be used to compare policy options based on these two key policy objectives. It can also be used to clarify thinking about policy trade-offs and compromises, and to re-design policies to reduce health inequality in cost-effective ways that do not sacrifice large potential health gains.

• Briefing
• Centre for Health Economics - publications

Prison health

Health and Social Care Select Committee -
This report finds that standards inside England’s prisons have deteriorated in recent years, following budget reductions and the loss of prison officers. It concludes that prisons, as a result of staff shortages and overcrowding, are limiting prisoners’ access to healthcare and their ability to lead healthy lives. The report calls on the Government to try to tackle this cycle of disadvantage, by reducing the health inequities people in prison face.

• Report
• Health and Social Care Select Committee - news

PHE inquiry into the fall in numbers of people in alcohol treatment: findings

Public Health England -
Alcohol treatment commissioners and providers can use this report to understand what was behind the fall in the numbers of people in treatment for alcohol dependence in England since 2013 to 2014. The findings can be used to inform local commissioning and service development plans for increasing the numbers of people in alcohol treatment.

• Report
• Public Health England - publications