A lack of long-term funding and political planning is undermining health promotion and poor health prevention across the UK, a senior council has warned.
The Council for Science and Technology (CST), an advisory non-departmental public body, has called on the government to ‘make bold political choices’ to tackle health inequalities and promote positive behavioural change.
In advice sent to ministers and the chief medical officer for England in May, but made public this week, the CST described how insufficient investment into primary care services was especially impacting individuals and communities living in deprived areas.
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This is despite recent studies highlighting how primary prevention can be up to four times more cost-effective than direct treatment, the CST said.
What does the CST want to change?
The CST is warning that the government ‘will not deliver’ on its healthcare mission unless it makes ‘bold political choices’ to fight the preventable drivers of ill-health.
A focus from treatment to prevention is one of the three main shifts that Labour introduced ahead of its 10-Year Health Plan due to be published this summer, alongside shifts from hospital to community and analogue to digital care.
The council has published recommendations for government action in the key areas of smoking, alcohol consumption, outdoor air pollution and obesity.
The CST called for a ‘modern, personalised’ disease prevention service which uses digital technology to provide personalised prevention services at scale.
It also urged the government to prioritise childhood health such as by supporting Family Hubs and the Start for Life Programme via multi-year funding.
First launched in 2022, the current government is continuing the previous administration’s work on the Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme in an effort to link enhanced services for families and children living in areas with high levels of deprivation.
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‘Primary prevention measures which target the major preventable drivers of ill health have to be directed by political leaders, who determine which actions are prioritised, funded, and enforced,’ the council said in its letter to the prime minister.
It added that ‘many primary prevention measures have been hampered by a lack of funding, a lack of long-term evaluation, and a lack of political will, which has had a greater detrimental impact on individuals and communities in the most deprived areas’.
The CST’s three recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Demonstrate leadership by implementing bold interventions to tackle smoking, alcohol consumption, outdoor air pollution and obesity.
Recommendation 2: Prioritise childhood health to promote the nation’s overall wellbeing and future prosperity.
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Recommendation 3: Scope and deliver a modern, personalised disease prevention service
