Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Population health'.
Found 79 results
-
Content ArticleA Brighton GP surgery is under threat despite providing excellent services and strong links to the local community. This decision flies in the face of the proven 'social value' being delivered and potentially puts patients at risk. The reasons are presented in this excellent article which exposes the continued 'race to the bottom' due to an apparently unnecessary tendering exercise, a decision made behind closed doors and a failure to consult. Quote from Polly Toynbee's article in the Guardian: "Here’s the puzzle. Andrew Lansley’s calamitous system that opened the NHS to “any willing provider” to compete for contracts was supposedly swept away in 2022, replaced with ICBs that strove for cooperation across all NHS and social services in England. Yet some ICBs still apply the old competitive impulse to NHS services, even though they now have an obligation to ensure that tenders help to reduce inequalities."
-
News ArticleThe UK is becoming “the sick person of the wealthy world” because of the growing number of people dying from drugs, suicide and violence, research has found. Death rates among under-50s in the UK have got worse in recent years compared with many other rich countries, an international study shows. While mortality from cancer and heart disease has decreased, the number of deaths from injuries, accidents and poisonings has gone up, and got much worse for use of illicit drugs. The trends mean Britain is increasingly out of step with other well-off nations, most of which have had improvements in the numbers of people dying from such causes. The increase in drug-related deaths has been so dramatic that the rate of them occuring in the UK was three times higher in 2019 – among both sexes – than the median of 21 other countries studied. The findings are contained in a report by the Health Foundation thinktank, based on an in-depth study of health and death patterns in the 22 nations by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). “The UK’s health is fraying,” they concluded. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 May 2025
-
Content ArticleThis briefing from the Health Foundation compares trends in mortality within the UK and with 21 high-income countries, based on new research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The findings are stark, underlining deep inequalities in health between different parts of the UK and a worrying decline in UK health compared with international peers. Key points: Improvements in UK mortality rates slowed significantly in the 2010s, more than in most of the other countries studied. By 2023, the UK female mortality rate was 14% higher than the median of peer countries and the UK male mortality rate was 9% higher. For both, the gap to the median widened significantly after 2011, and the UK’s ranking relative to peer countries has now worsened. Improvements in mortality rates slowed across all UK nations and regions in the 2010s – but there are significant geographic inequalities. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have higher mortality rates than England. Scotland is performing particularly poorly – of the countries studied, in 2021 only the US had a worse mortality rate. In 2021, mortality rates were 20% higher in the North East and North West of England than in the South West. People aged 25–49 have seen a particularly pronounced relative worsening of mortality rates. In 2023, UK female mortality rates for this age group were 46% higher than the median of peer countries, while male rates were 31% higher. Of the other countries studied, only Canada and the US experienced a similar worsening of mortality rates among this age group over the 2010s. This worsening of mortality rates is a sign of ill health in the working-age population, acting as a drag on economic growth. Of the main three causes of death for people aged 25–49, mortality rates for cancers and circulatory diseases improved between 2001 and 2019, but rates worsened for deaths from external causes. Deaths from external causes explain between 70% and 80% of the divergence in UK mortality rates compared with the median of peer countries over this period. While in the 2010s alcohol-related mortality rates for people aged 25–49 plateaued or declined and mortality rates for suicide (and undetermined intent) slightly increased, the rate of drug-related deaths rose sharply. In contrast, rates of drug-related deaths continued to decline for peer countries. As a result, the drug-related mortality rate in the UK was more than three times higher in 2019 than the median of peer countries. Geographic inequalities in drug-related deaths are stark among people aged 25–49. In 2019, the drug-related mortality rate in Scotland was around 4 times higher than in England. Within England, the drug-related mortality rate in the North East was 3.5 times higher for men and almost 4 times higher for women than in London. With the UK comparing poorly with many other high-income countries, improvement is both possible and urgently needed. This will require long-term action for economic recovery in areas of long run industrial decline; a strong focus on prevention; investment in public health services and action to address risk factors such as smoking, alcohol and poor diet; and a concerted effort to tackle drug-related deaths. These actions should be brought together in a clear strategy for tackling health inequalities. The UK government’s health mission promised just such an approach, but progress so far has been slow. This needs to change or the UK’s health will fall further behind its international peers.
-
EventThe UK has a population health emergency – an ageing society, stalling life expectancy, poor population health and increasing multimorbidity should provide a burning platform for further action on prevention. It is clear that bold action is needed to make the shift to prevention a reality. But tackling this problem is not just a job for the NHS – we cannot treat our way out of a public health crisis. Improving the nation’s health will mean using the full weight of the opportunity presented by the government’s health mission. Beyond this, businesses, local councils, charities and communities working in partnership with those in health and care all have power to improve the health of our population. If we are to transform the health and care service, action must now be taken, including a fundamental rewiring of how money and prioritisation work in health and care, and utilising the other important shifts (moving from an analogue to a digital system, and from care in hospitals to care in the community) in aid of this overarching goal (for example, expanding preventive community services such as vaccination programmes, and developing and promoting technologies that help people manage their own health). Join with peers across national government, health and care, business, local government, the VCSE sector, and those working at the community and neighbourhood levels as we explore how to take bold action and shift the dial on prevention. You will have the opportunity to learn and collaborate with experts and leaders from across the health and care system and more widely through interactive workshops, panel debates and keynote talks. Register
-
News Article
Alarming decline in vaccine update must be tackled, say MPs
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK’s status as a global leader on vaccination is at risk because of falling uptake rates among children and an “alarming” decline in clinical trial activity, MPs have warned. The Health and Social Care Committee said in a report that it was concerned that England did not meet the 95% target for any routine childhood immunisations in 2021-22.1 Committee chair Steve Brine MP said that new spikes in measles cases in London and the West Midlands because of low uptake of MMR vaccines should be a “massive wake-up call” for the government to take action. “Vaccination is the one of the greatest success stories when it comes to preventing infection. Unless the government tackles challenges around declining rates of childhood immunisations and implements reform on clinical trials, however, the UK’s position as a global leader on vaccination risks being lost,” he said. The Health and Social Care Committee said, “It is unacceptable that there are people who are unable to take advantage of the important protection that vaccination offers because of practical challenges of time and location that can and must be tackled.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 27 July 2023 -
News Article
Austerity increased rates of premature births in UK, research says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Austerity measures, originally introduced by the coalition government in 2010, led to a dramatic increase in premature births and low-weight births, a new study has shown. Birth rates in Scotland found “marked increases” in babies born smaller or prematurely were particularly evident in the most deprived areas, according to the researchers. The study, published in the European Journal of Medicine, showed trends in low birth rates and premature birth changes within one to three years after austerity was implemented. Premature birth was the main driver of smaller weights. For babies born in the 20 per cent most deprived areas premature birth rates increased by around 25 per cent, after declining year on year prior 2012. Researchers said: “Hugely concerning changes to health outcomes have been observed in the UK since the early 2010s, including reductions in life expectancy and widening of inequalities. These have been attributed to UK government ‘austerity’ policies which have profoundly affected poorer populations.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 November 2024 -
EventThere is currently remarkable consensus across think tanks, institutions, and political parties that a move towards a preventive state is key to creating a healthier nation. A preventive approach can help people live healthily for longer while also addressing many of the problems within the health and care system, allowing for proactive population health management and tackling of health inequalities. Creating a healthier nation needs a collaboration between people, places, the NHS, and businesses, as well as government. If the new government wants to improve the health of the nation, it should create an approach to health that spans all government departments, includes actions to reduce health inequalities, and implements measures that help people to make healthier choices. At this in-person event, the case is presented for how prevention can create a healthier nation, why it is particularly important now, and propose tangible actions for making this shift at the national, system and local levels. Join the King's Fund to understand why prevention is key to supporting healthier lives and how it can be made a reality. Join leaders and experts from across health and care, thinks tanks and politicians to explore: why moving towards a preventive state is particularly important now given the context of widening health inequalities and stalling of life expectancy how to make the shift to prevention a reality at national, system, and local levels the importance of measuring preventive expenditure the role of prevention when taking a population health approach the link between health and housing and how healthier communities can support a wider approach to prevention. how place-based approaches to prevention are key. Register
-
Content Article9.1 million people will be living with major illness by 2040, 2.5 million more than in 2019, according to this new report published by the Health Foundation. The analysis is part of a four-year project led by the Health Foundation’s Real Centre in partnership with the University of Liverpool, focusing on levels of ill health in the adult population in England up to 2040. It lays out the scale and impact of the growth in the number of people living with major illness as the population ages. The analysis finds that 19 of the 20 health conditions studied are projected to increase in prevalence, including a rise of more than 30% in the number of people living with conditions such as cancer, diabetes and kidney disease. Overall, the number of people living with major disease is set to increase from almost 1 in 6 of the adult population in 2019, to nearly 1 in 5 by 2040, with significant implications for the NHS, other public services and the public finances. The challenges of improving care for an ageing population and enabling people to live independent lives for longer are not unique to England, with countries across the globe facing similar pressures on their health services. However, with the NHS already under unprecedented strain, the findings point to big changes in how care should be delivered in future. Much of the projected growth in illness relates to conditions such as anxiety and depression, chronic pain and diabetes, which are predominantly managed outside hospitals in primary care and the community. This reinforces the need for investment in general practice and community-based services, focusing on prevention and early intervention to reduce the impact of illness and improve the quality of people’s lives. The analysis finds that 80% of the projected increase in major illness (2 million people) will be among people aged 70 and over, with the remaining 20% (500,000 people) among the working-age population (20-69 years old). It also projects that improvements in some of the main causes of poor health, such as fewer people smoking and lower cholesterol rates, will be offset by the impact of obesity as many people who have been obese for long periods of their lives reach old age. The report warns that there is no silver bullet to reduce the growth in people living with major illness and that supporting people to live well with illness will increasingly be an essential function of health care and other services in the future. Its findings underline the need for a long-term plan to reform, modernise and invest in the NHS alongside a bold, new approach that invests in the nation’s health and wellbeing.
-
Content ArticleThis free eGuide will aid your strategic communications design, and show you how you can develop strategic communications that support and educate populations and patients to make better lifestyle decisions and live healthier lives. In the eGuide, you’ll discover: Why is behavioural change critical for prevention? What are the fundamental elements of strategic healthcare communications. How to develop your vision for patient activation communications to become a reality. The guide is free, but you will need to submit your details download the Apteco guide from their website.
-
News Article
Prof Sir Chris Whitty says UK faces rural and coastal ageing crisis
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK faces an ageing crisis and healthcare must step in, England's chief medical officer, Prof Sir Chris Whitty, warns in his annual report. People are living longer but some spend many of their later years in bad health - and that has to change, he said. Based on projections, the elderly boom will be in rural, largely coastal, areas and these places are often poor cousins when it comes to provision. In deprived regions, age-related issues emerge 10 years earlier, on average. "We've really got to get serious about the areas of the country where ageing is happening very fast, and we've got to do it now. "It's possible to compress the period of time that people spend in ill health...because otherwise we will end up with large numbers of people leading much more dependent lives." Providing services and environments suitable for older adults in these areas is an absolute priority, the report says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 November 2023 -
Content Article
Health inequalities newsletters by Hemant Patel
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Health inequalities
These newsletters on LinkedIn from Hemant Patel are dedicated to raising the issue of health inequalities and population health management. -
Content ArticleHealth literacy, defined as an individual's ability to access, understand, and use health information to make informed decisions about their health and healthcare, plays a critical role in determining health outcomes. Wider determinants of health, on the other hand, refer to a range of social, economic, and environmental factors that influence an individual's health status. This article aims to explore the relationship between health literacy and the wider determinants of health, and how understanding this connection can contribute to more effective population health management and health equity.
-
Content ArticleThis new report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change sets out the need to both harness the power of new technologies and to create a streamlined, strategic state to revolutionise the delivery of public services. Nowhere is this approach more urgently needed than on the country’s health. Healthcare demands continue to increase while costs are spiralling as health takes up an ever-higher proportion of public spending. At the same time, outcomes are deteriorating, with UK life expectancy stagnating and health inequalities on the rise. So, we’re all paying more and more to achieve less and less. The report suggests a paradigm shift: we must begin to treat individual and collective health as a national asset. Government must focus its efforts and resources on creating the conditions in which population and individual health can flourish.
-
News Article
Millions urged to get free NHS check for ‘silent killer’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Millions of people are being urged to get checks for a condition which has been described as the “silent killer”. If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia. Up to 4.2 million people in England are thought to be living with high blood pressure without knowing it – around a third of all those with the condition. Now, a new NHS Get Your Blood Pressure Checked campaign has been launched, backed by health charities, to warn people the condition often has no symptoms. England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said: “High blood pressure usually has no symptoms but can lead to serious health consequences. “The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get a simple, non-invasive blood pressure test. “Even if you are diagnosed, the good news is that it’s usually easily treatable. “Getting your blood pressure checked at a local pharmacy is free, quick and you don’t even need an appointment, so please go for a check today – it could save your life.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2024 -
News ArticlePeople in some more rural areas are missing out on specialist treatments they should be getting, while Londoners are receiving a lot more than their “fair share”, new NHS England figures suggest. NHS England has suggested the main cause is “systematic shortfalls in access [in] remote communities”, leaving “unmet need” for specialised services in these areas. However other factors, including coding and reporting practices, year-to-year fluctuation, and weaknesses in the formula, are also likely to be confusing the picture, sources said. The variation is being uncovered now because NHSE is preparing to fund many specialised services via allocations to integrated care boards. These allocations will be based on estimates of their populations’ healthcare needs, rather than NHSE negotiating payments directly with provider trusts – as it has since 2013. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 January 2023
-
Event
Population health: an opportunity to transform health and care
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
The health and care system are in crisis with staff trying to address backlogs of care and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, amid workforce shortages, financial constraints and a wider cost-of-living crisis. But how can the system move away from this new normal to a new way of working? Population health approaches offer the opportunity to move from a reactive system that treats patients when they are ill to one that proactively addresses the impact of wider social determinants on people’s heath and tackles the effects of health inequalities. Now is the time to start thinking differently about the health and care system. At this King's Fund event you will hear from local experts and international speakers about how the health and care system can begin to make this shift. It will discuss why population health offers a way to not only tackle health inequalities and improve the health of individuals and communities but can also provide solutions for a system under constant stress. New ideas will be discussed that are inspiring professionals across the sector and explore practical examples of how to address the inequalities social determinants create using a population health lens. Sharing of good-practice examples of how population health works within integrated care systems, how communities come together to promote better health outcomes for residents, and how leaders make a difference from local to national level to solve many of the problems facing the health and care system through the population health model. Register -
EventDeveloping a culture of continuous improvement is an imperative as healthcare organisations face unprecedented challenges and strive for sustainability. Join an executive leadership panel for a virtual roundtable discussion and learn about crucial lessons from Warwick Business School's recently published independent study of the NHS-VMI partnership. The research reveals the effectiveness of applying a systems approach to learning and improvement across five NHS trusts in partnership with NHS Improvement. It will explore crucial lessons for leaders as they work to improve patient outcomes, population health, access, equity, and the overall patient experience, even during disruptions like the Covid pandemic. This includes: Leadership models, behaviours and practices that were observed to be essential components of leading change in organisations. How to enable “partnership” ways of working through practices and mechanisms that foster and maintain collaborative ways of working. Cultural elements necessary for the successful adoption of an organisation-wide improvement programme. Register
-
EventuntilFrom 1 July 2022, integrated care systems (ICSs) will be established as statutory bodies in all parts of England, with place-based partnerships also taking on a central role in the new system. As ICSs begin the next stage of development, how can all involved ensure they are truly different to what has come before and have a meaningful impact? The King's Fund is running this virtual conference across four half-days, from 23–26 May, which will celebrate the progress that ICSs have made so far. Sharing the vision and journey of established ICSs, this conference will explore how place-based partnerships, newly established relationships and systems leadership can leverage opportunities, and navigate the risks and challenges, to deliver a step change in health and wellbeing outcomes in population health. Register
-
EventuntilFrom 1 July 2022, integrated care systems (ICSs) will be established as statutory bodies in all parts of England, with place-based partnerships also taking on a central role in the new system. As ICSs begin the next stage of development, how can all involved ensure they are truly different to what has come before and have a meaningful impact? The King's Fund are running this virtual conference across four half-days, from 23–26 May, which will celebrate the progress that ICSs have made so far. Sharing the vision and journey of established ICSs, this conference will explore how place-based partnerships, newly established relationships and systems leadership can leverage opportunities, and navigate the risks and challenges, to deliver a step change in health and wellbeing outcomes in population health. Register
-
EventuntilAt a time when deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke are markedly declining, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths from heart failure are increasing. The management of this devastating long-term condition is estimated to account for 2% of the entire NHS budget, with 70% of this spent on acute hospital admissions. Both prevalence and incidence of heart failure increase steeply with increasing age and with deprivation but outcomes for patients are improved with earlier diagnosis and treatment. Join the King's Fund for this free online event, where we will consider how heart failure is a growing population health problem and the solutions to help overcome the challenges this condition presents. These include preventing the underlying causes of heart failure, as well as identifying risk factors for the condition, such as access to diagnosis, particularly for older people and those from more deprived communities. Register
-
Event
The King's Fund: What's in store for health and care in 2021
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThis free online event from the King's Fund will provide insight into the wider UK health and care landscape in 2021 and will explore how recent trends, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and future developments could affect people working in the sector, patients and the wider population. The speakers will discuss some of the big issues that we hope to see progress on in 2021, including health and care staff wellbeing, social care reform, population health and health inequalities, and legislative changes to support the integration agenda. Register -
News ArticleThe risk of dying from cancer in England “varies massively” depending on where a person lives, according to a study that experts say exposes “astounding” health inequalities. Researchers who analysed data spanning two decades found staggering geographical differences. In the poorest areas, the risk of dying from cancer was more than 70% higher than the wealthiest areas. Overall, the likelihood of dying from cancer has fallen significantly over the last 20 years thanks to greater awareness of signs and symptoms, and better access to treatment and care. The proportion dying from cancer before the age of 80 between 2002 and 2019 fell from one in six women to one in eight, and from one in five men to one in six. However, some regions enjoyed a much larger decline in risk than others, and the new analysis has revealed that alarming gaps in outcomes remain. “Although our study brings the good news that the overall risk of dying from cancer has decreased across all English districts in the last 20 years, it also highlights the astounding inequality in cancer deaths in different districts around England,” said Prof Majid Ezzati, from Imperial College London, who is a senior author of the study. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 December 2023
-
News Article
Coronavirus: Doctors spell out how to exit England's lockdown
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Lifting lockdown must be handled better this time round to avoid a surge in Covid that could overwhelm the NHS, doctors say. The British Medical Association has published a blueprint for how it thinks England should proceed with any easing. It includes replacing the "rule of six" with a two-households restriction to reduce social mixing and banning travel between different local lockdown tiers. Government has yet to say if or exactly how England will exit on 2 December. It will decide next week, based on whether cases have fallen enough and how much strain hospitals are under. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 November 2020 -
News ArticleThe mutated strain of coronavirus from Danish mink could have “grave consequences”, Matt Hancock warned today. The Health Secretary said the new variant was a “significant development”. And he told MPs the new form of the virus “did not fully respond to Covid-19 antibodies” - hinting it might not respond in the same way to a vaccine. The UK banned travel and freight from Denmark on Saturday, going further than the current 14-day quarantine system. Those who had already passed from Denmark to Britain in the previous 14 days must isolate for two weeks. Updating the House of Commons, Mr Hancock said: “We’ve been monitoring the spread of coronavirus in European mink farms for some time, especially the major countries for mink farming like Denmark, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands. “On Thursday evening last I was alerted to a significant development in Denmark of a new evidence that the virus had spread back from mink to humans in a variant form that did not fully respond to Covid-19 antibodies. “Although the chance of this variant becoming widespread is low, the consequences should that happen would be grave.” Read full story Source: The Mirror, 10 November 2020
-
News ArticleThe social restrictions imposed upon our lives because of coronavirus have taken a toll on our emotions, finances, and our waistlines, but there may yet be a silver-lining: a reduction in cases of other infectious diseases. From the common cold to chickenpox, there has been a substantial drop in the number of infections being reported to GPs, despite children returning to school – and that looks set to continue as winter approaches and lockdown restrictions tighten across the country. According to the latest GP surveillance data for England there were 1.5 cases of common cold for every 100,000 people during the week ending 6 October – compared to 92.5 cases reported during the same week last year. The rate of other non-Covid respiratory illnesses was also lower, at 131 for every 100,000 people, compared to 303 last year. Influenza-like illness is also down, at 131 cases for every 100,000 people, versus 303 cases in 2019. Although there has been in increase since the start of the school term, for all of these illnesses, infection rates remain below expected seasonal levels for this time of year, the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners’ research and surveillance centre said. Equivalent data was not immediately accessible for Wales and Scotland. GP consultations for other infectious diseases like strep throat, tonsillitis and impetigo, as well as infectious intestinal diseases like norovirus are also well below the five-year average – and have been since late March – the report suggests. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 October 2020
