Many members of health overview and scrutiny committees will feel that their role is a complex task. In my experience, this area of scrutiny becomes even more demanding when there is a joint committee, involving a number of local authorities, to scrutinise health services across a large area.
We will wait to see if the one-off £1.8 billion funding pledge for NHS hospital equipment and upgrades is worth the paper it’s written on.
Children’s health would be better protected if money raised from the soft drinks levy was spent on local priorities, such as playgrounds, activities and after-school clubs to combat child obesity, the LGA has said.
The NHS’s plans for health care over the next 10 years can only be fully realised if councils’ adult social care and public health services are properly funded, the LGA has warned.
We take it for granted that each generation will live longer, healthier lives than the one before.
Cancer Research UK welcomed Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock’s ‘Prevention is better than cure’ vision to help people live well for longer.
The LGA has warned that record demand for sexual health services in England is putting the system under huge pressure and leaving people facing longer waits for appointments.
The number of children and young people being treated for Type 2 diabetes – normally only seen in adults and often linked to obesity – has soared by around 40 per cent in just four years, to more than 700 cases, the LGA has warned.