Last summer, Lord Darzi revealed the scale of the challenge that the NHS faced in the face of a tide of rising ill-health. In response to this, the Government made a clear commitment to shift from treatment to prevention, doing more to stop health problems before they arise.
The 10 Year Plan published yesterday presents itself as the solution to our ongoing focus on late-stage intervention. Many of the interventions, from community-based services to improved labelling of alcohol products, are ones which the public health sector has long advocated for.
The success of the shift to prevention will determine whether the Government will truly be able to say they have ‘saved’ the NHS.
The Government now needs to set out in detail how their plan will lead to increased investment in prevention, and action to tackle all of the commercial and social determinants of health. The delivery of the promises made today is critical.
Over the coming months and years, we need to see more action from the Government to make this a reality. From minimum unit pricing to investment in occupational health, there are interventions which we know will make a significant difference to outcomes if they are implemented properly.
As the three organisations representing public health professionals across the country, we know that more can be done. A real shift to locally-rooted preventative health is possible. By investing in prevention, and harnessing the power of public services from schools to JobCentres, we can identify and address health problems before they start to cause harm.
This would represent the kind of transformation that the Government says it wants to see. It would mean changing the culture of our health service to focus on and incentivise prevention.
The public health sector stands ready to make this change, and hope the Government will work with us to rise to this challenge in the interests of all our health.
Greg Fell, President, The Association of Directors of Public Health
Kevin Fenton, President, Faculty of Public Health
William Roberts, Chief Executive, Royal Society for Public Health
