Public needs help to be healthy, Kings Fund
pharmafile | June 13, 2008 | News story | |Â Â Â
The King's Fund has called for greater effort to be made by government to help people improve their health.
The influential think tank wants a coordinated effort, involving national and local government, the NHS, employers and other stakeholders, to create environments where healthier choices are easier to make.
"While individuals' actions greatly affect their own health, the government has rightly acknowledged that people need help and support in making decisions about their health," chief executive Niall Dickson said.
Responding to this week's publication of the Department of Health report, Health Inequalities: Progress and Next Steps, Dickson warned that some health inequalities continue to widen – and that the geographical gap in life expectancy has risen for women and remained static for men.
Calling the issue "one of the most significant challenges facing not only the NHS but government and society as a whole", Dickson acknowledged the government had made some headway.
"There has been solid progress in improving health in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country," he said. "The gap in infant mortality between social classes has reduced marginally over the last four years and there has been a general improvement in life expectancy overall."
The King's Fund last year released two reports, Our Future Health Secured and Kicking Bad Habits, which looked at where NHS money has been spent, what it has achieved, whether government policy has promoted effective use of the resources and the effectiveness of financial incentives for promoting healthier behaviour.
Among their conclusions was the idea that failing to tackle unhealthy lifestyles, especially with regard to obesity, could threaten the long-term viability of the NHS itself. Such failure to act would certainly mean taxpayers would have to spend substantially more on the NHS than would otherwise be the case.
The Government has said it is committed to tackling health inequalities and helping the most deprived, and health secretary Alan Johnson has made £34 million available for programmes to support local communities.
In addition to legislation on smoking, Government initiatives announced so far include the Child Health Strategy, jointly developed with the Department for Children, Schools and Families. This is a long-term attempt to improve health services and outcomes for children and young people, and greater support and promotion of breastfeeding.
There are also plans to pilot 'Fit for Work' schemes in what the Government calls 'less well-off areas', as recommended by Professor Dame Carol Black in her recent report, on the premise that working can improve people's general health and wellbeing.
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