Here’s to the health of our NHS

Jul 7 2008 by Iain Laing, The Journal

THE NHS is 60, marking a really important celebration. Anyone who has benefited from the NHS is deeply appreciative, the widespread consensus is that this is one of a few areas of public policy that most people are content to pay taxes for.

It is probably the key factor in the improving health and life expectancy of people in the UK, both in acute provision and in the increasing focus on preventative interventions.

One of the best examples of the latter being the focus on smoking cessation and prevention, including heavy lobbying to secure the smoking ban – the benefits of which will grow year on year.

Despite health and wellbeing constituting being key ‘quality of life’ indicators, they are not always given high priority, by individuals or employers.

The NHS’s achievements have been monumental, yet we continue to see persistent and severe health challenges in many of our communities – perhaps because as individuals and collectively we know we can rely on the health service to look after us if we do become ill.

There are a number of factors affecting an individual’s approach to their own health and wellbeing. There is a direct, inextricable link between poverty and ill-health.

People with low incomes generally live in the worst housing conditions, enjoy the poorest diets, face more severe challenges likely to lead to poor mental health and are least likely to develop the knowledge and skills to take some of these issues on.

Failing, as a society, to resolve these public policy challenges means that the burden falls onto the NHS further down the line.

And although many employers are very careful to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect and maintain (and even develop, in some cases) workers’ health and wellbeing, far too many employers continue to disregard this responsibility.

The upstream, health promotion work of the NHS has grown and there are obvious downstream gains. Reducing smoking means that people will not be presenting themselves in due course to the NHS with chronic, expensive to treat illnesses will save the NHS a fortune.

The same could be true for alcohol abuse, obesity and low levels of physical activity

The NHS at 70, must be regarded at least as important as any other key agency, regionally or nationally. I hope it continues to be more outward facing and maybe if it does, health and wellbeing will be taken more seriously too.