10 years since public health became responsibility of local government

2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the transfer of public health from primary care trusts to local government. To mark the occasion the Local Government Association has interviewed key figures closest to the reforms. Some of the interviews are deliberately challenging and provocative; some of them present a picture of what is already happening in local government; some of them look to what more local and national government could do in the future, either with additional powers or by using their existing powers and remit.

Maintaining our momentum: Public health in local government | Local Government Association

Suicide Prevention Bulletin available

Please find the latest suicide prevention bulletin produced by the NHs Mersey Care Foundation Trust Evidently Better team. If you are unable to access any of the included articles please contact acadmeic.library@lscft.nhs.uk.

30 October 2023 – Evidently Better

Reducing health inequalities through acting on the social determinants of health: innovative approaches by provider trusts 

This report outlines how four London trusts (Barts Health NHS Trust, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust) are taking action to improve employment, increase income, improve education and reduce air pollution.

Trusts develop innovative approaches to tackling social determinants of health – UCLPartners

LSCFT Suicide Prevention lead writes on the Trust suicide prevention work

Lancashire and South Cumbria FT medical lead, suicide prevention working group and acting consultant psychiatrist, South Ribble CMHT, Dr Raphael Ogbolu has written an article on suicide prevention and how the new National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023 – 2028 clearly asks us to embrace the fact that suicide prevention is everybody’s business, and nobody should be left behind.

Crisis Line 24/7 on 0800 953 0110.

Action needed on infant and early childhood mental health, College says

Children under five in the UK are at risk of suffering from lifelong mental health conditions which could be prevented with the right care and support, a report from the Royal College of Psychiatrists has said.

The report calls on the Government to prioritise the mental health of babies and young children. 

It says early action is vital, given half of mental health conditions arise by age 14 and many of these start to develop in the first years of life. Most babies, under fives and their parents do not receive the support they need to address these issues both during and after pregnancy. Mental health services are under-resourced and inconsistent commissioning is putting children’s immediate and long-term mental health at significant risk. 

In England prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 100,000 (5.5 per cent) of two to four-year-olds struggled with anxiety, behavioural disorders and neurodevelopmental disorders. Globally, an estimated one in five (20.1 per cent) of children aged between one and seven years have a mental health condition.

Deprived and rural communities more affected by varying dementia diagnosis rates

Dementia diagnosis rates vary widely, a report has found. At present there is a difference of more than 20 percentage points in the dementia diagnosis rates between the highest and lowest-performing integrated care systems in England.

The inquiry, researched by the Alzheimer’s Society, examined how the most deprived and rural communities are particularly adversely affected by this regional disparity. The inquiry’s findings show a complex picture in which issues ranging from variation in population health risk and dementia public health understanding, to the geographical spread of brain scans and transport networks all play a part in regional dementia-related health disparities.

Raising the Barriers.pdf (alzheimers.org.uk)