Good practice from councils shows the potential for reducing health inequalities – if properly resourced
Ten years of seeing local government and public health blend together, each using the expertise and reach of the other, has been a fascinating experience for me.
Despite the huge financial constraints under which local government, including public health, is now working, I have been constantly impressed by councils’ enthusiasm to improve the health of their communities and to reduce the still shocking inequalities in health we see within and between them.
Public health, drawing imaginatively on all of local government’s functions, can make a real, large-scale difference to improving people’s lives, promoting wellbeing and reducing health inequalities.
Working with partners, public health supports work to promote the independence of people with long-term chronic conditions and to prevent ill health, thus reducing pressures on the NHS.
Good practice from individual councils shows just what potential there is for public health, if properly resourced, to make inroads into improving health and wellbeing.
Public health teams, working with a ‘health in all policies’ approach across councils, are tackling persistent problems such as adult and childhood obesity, mental illness, alcohol abuse, sexually transmitted infections, and the health impact of isolation and loneliness in old age.
However, the context for all this excellent work is the relentless reduction in the resources available for public health work.
Councils and their public health teams have put a brave face on the compromises they have had to make – working with the local NHS and voluntary sector, sharing public health initiatives and, sometimes, even public health teams across councils, and reorganising in an attempt to achieve more with less.
I take my hat off to their resilience and passion, but I want to reiterate my plea for properly resourced public health services across the country.
The public health function of local government cannot continue to maximise its role at the heart of councils while continually retrenching to make budget cuts.
We must not get used to the NHS and social care being in a permanent state of crisis.
Public health could help make this country one where people live healthy lives for longer, with less dependence on acute health and care services and a better quality of life, while reducing the public service budget in the long term.
We will be discussing these issues with leading experts and councils at the LGA’s virtual annual public health conference on 21-23 March 2023, across three mornings.