Transcript Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health

Tackling health inequalities –
Scottish Government perspective
Tony Rednall
Creating Health Team: Public Health Division
Overview
1. Ministerial Task Force on Health
Inequalities
2. Beyond the NHS
3. the Task Force’s priority areas
Equally Well and the latest report of
the Ministerial Task Force on Health
Inequalities (2013)
Background
• Equally Well – The report of the Ministerial Task
Force on Health Inequalities (published 2008).
• Found four primary areas for action:
- children’s very early years;
- mental health and wellbeing;
- harm associated with violence, drug and
alcohol abuse;
- big killer diseases (heart disease and
cancers), together with their risk factors, e.g.
smoking.
• Ministerial Task Force reconvened in 2010 and
2012 to review progress.
Latest Ministerial Task Force objectives:
• Members asked to identify key priorities that
would support delivery of Equally Well in
coming years.
• Reflect on changes in the way that people &
communities are engaged in decisions that
affect them;
• Consider implications of the Christie
Commission’s (2011) conclusions relating to
health inequalities;
• Look at how characteristics of “place” had an
impact on health inequalities in Scotland.
The evidence heard:
• Health in Scotland improving, but more slowly than other
European countries – needs faster improvement in most
deprived areas, which conventional approaches have failed
to achieve;
• Level of deaths amongst the 15-44 age group contributing
significantly to poor European standing;
• Despite many similarities, Glasgow & the West of Scotland
are experiencing more deaths than comparable cities &
regions in the UK. One potential contributing factor
identified is the difference in social capital;
• The immediate environment makes a significant impact on
health and wellbeing.
Priority areas identified:
• Development of social capital;
• Support for CPPs and the community
planning process;
• Focus on the 15-44 age group;
• Support for the implementation of a
Place Standard.
Moving forward:
• The Ministerial Task Force (2013) also
committed to alternative arrangements in
future.
Ministerial Strategic Group for Health &
Community Care (MSG)
Health & Community Care Delivery Group
The Inequalities Action Group
Beyond the NHS: collaboration and
innovation
• Third & voluntary sector crucial to making
further progress to improve health and reduce
inequalities.
• Scottish Government sees its role being to
encourage and enable innovative local
partnerships between national and local
government, primary care/healthcare
providers, third sector and community-led
organisations.
Assets-based approaches
• Crucial to Equally Well has been helping shift
policy focus from dealing with deficits, to instead
focusing on individuals’ and communities’
capacities – and how these can be developed to
address local needs.
• The voluntary sector often represents these local
community resources, and the means by which
individuals can be supported to realise their
potential – thereby challenging health
inequalities.
Link Worker Programme
• Partnership developed between the Deep-End
GP group and the Health & Social Care
Alliance Scotland underpins the programme’s
potential to tackle health inequalities.
• The Scottish Government is funding the
programme to explore how GP practices and
local community services can work together,
to support patients experiencing socioeconomic circumstances that impact
negatively upon their health.
Developing social capital
• Social capital: shared value arising from
networks of people.
• Increasing levels of social capital will challenge
social exclusion, as part of addressing wider
health inequalities.
• Facilitating social capital building to be a
priority in Scottish Government’s on-going
work with communities.
Support for Community Planning Partnerships
• Equally Well emphasises cross-agency joint
working through CPPs as crucial to delivering
change on health inequalities.
• Ministerial Task Force acknowledged
improvement needed.
• Significant to work towards Christie
Commission objective of: “building personal
and community capacity, resilience and
autonomy”.
Development of Place Standard
• Growing recognition of need to shape places
which are nurturing of positive health,
wellbeing and resilience.
Poor urban
Design
Social
Exclusion
Health
Inequalities
• The Scottish Government is developing a Place
Standard which will be monitored with
regards to health inequalities.
Focus on the 15-44 age group
• Equally Well focus on children, but adult groups
vulnerable to socio-economic drivers of health
inequalities.
• 15-44 group found to experience comparably
high rates of excess mortality.
• Leads us to:
discussion of third sector contribution to reducing
health inequalities amongst vulnerable adults – and the
role Scottish Government can play.
Health Inequalities
Tackling the fundamental causes