Tories plan public health drive
pharmafile | January 15, 2010 | News story | | Conservatives, NHS, NHS funding, binge drinking, public health
The Department of Health would be renamed the Department of Public Health under a future Tory government, says shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley.
The department’s focus would shift “firmly to the prevention of illness rather than just its cure”, a move the Tories call “the first step in sharpening national public health policy”.
The Conservative Party’s new green paper on public health – A Healthier Nation – contains several big ideas.
Headline-grabbers include action on binge drinking, with tougher licensing, changes to drinks prices and a ban on alcohol sold below cost price.
Much of it follows the same emphasis on patient-centred, local services as Labour’s health policy has done – for example, the Tories support further pharmacist involvement in preventive care such as health checks.
But the Conservatives diverge by saying they will separate the public health budget from that for NHS services.
This money would then be used to support strategies agreed between local authorities and their health service partners.
Budgets would be managed by local directors of public health, who will have to link up with schools, businesses, councils and GPs locally to promote healthy living.
In effect, councils will be rewarded if they improve the health of local communities, the Tories pledging to replace “wherever possible” government-controlled public health strategies.
Instead they want to see ones conceived and delivered in partnership with local employers, social enterprises, private providers, charities, schools and health professionals.
The Green Paper makes the point that almost all local government functions have a role in promoting public health, including those in environment, education, social care and housing services.
“The importance of local authorities cannot be over-emphasised,” it states, going on to say that they would be crucial in better targeting resources at the poorest people to “eliminate our stubborn health inequalities”.
The devolved public health funding will give relatively more to deprived communities, where health problems tend to be much worse.
“Separating the public health budget from that for the health service is a bold move,” said King’s Fund acting chief executive Anna Dixon.“With the NHS facing a perfect storm of funding pressures and rising demand, the Conservatives are right to focus on public health and prevention.”
But Dixon added one big caveat her comments, that of how much funding public health will receive and whether the Conservatives are pledging an increase in current spending on health inequalities.
Nevertheless, the commitment to reducing health inequalities represents “a profound, but welcome, change in Conservative thinking”, she said.
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