How we make public health fit for the future
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock spoke at the Public Health England Annual Conference in Warwick.
Good morning.
What a wonderful theatre. It바카라 사이트s refreshing to be in a building where everything works 바카라 사이트 and everyone gets along.
They tell me that when the construction work here is completed, the new Warwick Arts Centre will have more space, more facilities, and be more accessible 바카라 사이트 essentially it will be: bigger, better and fit for the future.
Today, I바카라 사이트d like to talk to you about how we make public health fit for the future, what we need to do to build on our success 바카라 사이트 and we바카라 사이트ve had some huge successes that should be celebrated 바카라 사이트 but also the work we still need to do 바카라 사이트 the challenges and opportunities of the next decade.
Because I believe the 2020s is going to herald a fundamental shift in how we think of health, especially public health: proactive, predictive, personalised prevention 바카라 사이트 that바카라 사이트s the future of public health.
And, I바카라 사이트d like to start with the story of a great British victory against the odds 바카라 사이트 don바카라 사이트t worry this isn바카라 사이트t about Brexit 바카라 사이트 it바카라 사이트s the story behind Team GB바카라 사이트s complete and utter domination of elite cycling.
Now, in 2002, the team had won just one solitary Olympic gold medal in its 76-year history.
But over the next decade, they won 8 gold medals at 3 Olympics 바카라 사이트 they transformed British cycling from an international laughing stock to world leaders 바카라 사이트 everyone wanted to imitate.
And they did it by the theory of marginal gains.
Team GB worked out that if you broke down all the constituent parts that go into elite cycling, if you can improve each one by just 1%, then add it all together: that바카라 사이트s your margin of victory. That바카라 사이트s how you achieve success.
Now, I use this example because the whole story of public health is one of marginal gains.
We바카라 사이트ve always been driven by the data. And we must continue to be driven by the data and make decisions based on evidence whether it바카라 사이트s on sugar, vaccination or opioids 바카라 사이트 3 things I will return to.
But the other reason I use the example of cycling is because public health is also made up of so many constituent parts: national government, local authorities, the NHS, employers, and, most importantly, individuals.
Of course, funding is important, and I will always fight for fair funding for health and social care, and I will always fight for local government, like I did in the Spending Round, because nobody knows your communities, and their needs, better than you.
But public health is about so much more than just the public health grant: it바카라 사이트s about the whole system working together, and travelling in the same direction.
Because the big stuff, the easier stuff, has been done: on smoking, on immunisation, on HIV 바카라 사이트 even on clean air.
The only way forward is one of marginal gains, gradual improvements, hard-fought progress. So many of you have played a role in achieving these gains.
Thanks to our concerted efforts on smoking 바카라 사이트 legislation and education 바카라 사이트 we now have one of the lowest smoking rates in Europe.
50 years ago, 1 in 2 adults smoked. Now, less than 1 in 6 adults smoke in England.
Yet, for the 14% of adults who do still smoke, it바카라 사이트s the leading cause of illness and early death, and we know the less well-off you are, the more likely you are to smoke, exacerbating existing health inequalities.
So how do we get that 14% closer to zero?
Our prevention green paper has set an ambition for England to be smoke-free by 2030.
Ten years to get people to give up cigarettes or switch to less-harmful alternatives.
It바카라 사이트s a big ask, but I바카라 사이트m confident we can do it 바카라 사이트 through a proactive approach to prevent young people from taking up smoking, and through personalised support to help persistent smokers kick the habit.
Personalised prevention: this must be the guiding principle of public health in the 2020s.
And to achieve it we must harness the predictive power of genomics, and the data-crunching power of AI so we can get to people before they have a problem, so we can prevent bad luck or bad choices leading to bad outcomes.
That바카라 사이트s the reason we바카라 사이트re going to review the NHS Health Check programme, not to scrap it or remove it, but to see how we can improve it, how we can use tech and data to target people more effectively. There has long been a debate about whether this programme is good value for money and what we are saying with this review is that we want to look at making sure the money we do spend is better targeted.
Now, of course, when it comes to clean air, that바카라 사이트s a global challenge that requires a global response, and the UK has taken a global lead with the Clean Air Strategy we launched earlier this year: an ambitious, 25-year, cross-government plan to improve our health by improving our environment.
But when it comes to the other 2 big public health challenges of the next decade 바카라 사이트 obesity and mental health 바카라 사이트 then personalisation, more targeted interventions and more tailored support is how we achieve those marginal gains.
It바카라 사이트s how we succeed in our goal to help people live healthier, happier lives.
And this is how we do it: starting in childhood 바카라 사이트 actually even before a child is born, genomics and AI can help us diagnose and treat rare diseases while they are still in the womb, so they are born healthy.
We use predictive prevention to reach the parents who need help with infant feeding and nutrition.
We use opt-in data from smart devices and wearables to identify which children need more help with physical activity, which children may be at risk of mental health problems.
I know sometimes it sounds like I think technology and data is all that matters. But it only matters because we care about people. Better data and smarter tech can help us get to them faster, but tech can바카라 사이트t replace people. Face to face, human interventions will always be the most effective way to help young people, particularly with those children not lucky enough to be born into safe and loving homes.
To give every child the best possible start in life we need to fundamentally change the way we think about health 바카라 사이트 it바카라 사이트s not a problem to patch up when things go wrong. It바카라 사이트s an asset, a foundation to build on, something to protect and nurture, something society must invest in for every child along with good housing, a strong economy, and well-paid work, because good health is what makes everything else in life possible.
When we have it, we take it for granted. But when we don바카라 사이트t바카라 사이트¦
As Health Secretary, I바카라 사이트ve met with many parents of seriously ill children and it바카라 사이트s clear there바카라 사이트s nothing more painful than seeing your child in pain. But what바카라 사이트s also at the forefront of those parents바카라 사이트 minds is all the opportunities their child is going to miss out on as they grow up 바카라 사이트 all the normal things we take for granted.
If we can prevent ill health, if we can promote good health, then we give every child the chance to fulfil their potential in life.
That must be our goal.
That is both the challenge and the opportunity we face in public health over the next decade.
So strong action to take excess calories, salt and sugar out of our children바카라 사이트s diets 바카라 사이트 like the successful sugar levy on soft drinks has done.
Strong action against manufacturers and advertisers so they can바카라 사이트t bombard young brains with junk food messages.
Tough action against social media companies and tech firms to remove suicide and self-harm content, and tackle the spread of anti-vaccination propaganda.
And even tougher action to stop Britain바카라 사이트s opioid crisis becoming any worse 바카라 사이트 and I don바카라 사이트t use that word lightly. When 1 in 10 adults in England are on opioids, that바카라 사이트s a crisis.
Of course, painkillers have an important role to play, but the first duty of public health must be to protect the public.
We can바카라 사이트t afford to be complacent. We바카라 사이트ve all seen the devastation opioids have caused in America바카라 사이트s heartland.
We can not let that happen here. It is our job to prevent this problem from escalating.
So I바카라 사이트m extremely grateful for the PHE inquiry. Your recommendations, your evidence on painkillers and anti-depressants will inform the actions we take to tackle this head-on.
The report published this week was very important and will mark a milestone in the attitude we take to over-medicalisation. The report was assured and based on evidence but also clear so that the public can understand. It backs up our own anecdotal evidence that there is a problem that must be tackled, and tackle it we will.
So all of those things taken together 바카라 사이트 children바카라 사이트s diets, social media harms, anti-vax, opioids 바카라 사이트 should and are being led by national government, but that바카라 사이트s not going to be enough.
We can바카라 사이트t tax and legislate our way out of childhood obesity.
We certainly can바카라 사이트t tax and legislate away the mental health problems our young people face.
They바카라 사이트re part of the armoury, yes, but they바카라 사이트re not a silver bullet.
Because at the heart of it we바카라 사이트re talking about changing human behaviour. And if you want to change the way people act, then you need to understand the way people think.
The Department of Health and Social Care has polled people across the country on prevention, from all age groups, from all backgrounds, so we can understand what the great British public think, and what they expect from us.
And there were 2, clear, overriding messages:
-
the overwhelming majority of people believe the responsibility for their health lies with them 바카라 사이트 the individual, not the state. I think this is a good thing and should underpin our approach 바카라 사이트 we must do more to empower people to look after their health
-
that our efforts on prevention must be focused on children
Sensible people, the British public 바카라 사이트 we should listen to them more often.
I think what it proves to me is that if there is nannying to be done, then let바카라 사이트s do it really, really well, but as a child grows up, and transitions into adolescence and then adulthood, we must be crystal clear with them: they are active participants in their own health.
And that바카라 사이트s exactly how we should treat them.
I do not like the phrase 바카라 사이트nanny state바카라 사이트, like some critics say, but what I do like is an active state with active citizens.
So personalised prevention means the government, both local and national, working with the NHS, to put prevention at the heart of our decision-making.
And we want to hear from you: your experiences, your ideas 바카라 사이트 the consultation on the prevention green paper runs until next month.
Because for prevention to succeed, and improve the nation바카라 사이트s health over the next decade, everyone has a contribution to make.
Making healthier choices for ourselves and our families 바카라 사이트 eating well, staying active, being smoke-free, and taking care of our mental health.
Laying the foundations for good health throughout our lives.
Investing in and building up that asset that will allow us to live happy, healthy, fulfilled lives.
Only by working together can we achieve this vision.
Only by treating health as a shared responsibility between an active state with active citizens.
All of the constituent parts: local authorities, national government, the NHS, communities, individuals, everybody in this room, everybody who believes in the power of public health, playing their part.
All of those marginal gains 바카라 사이트 that바카라 사이트s the margin of victory.
That바카라 사이트s how we move from dealing with the consequences of poor health to promoting the conditions for good health.
That바카라 사이트s how we finally make the NHS a National Health Service rather than a National Hospital Service.
Because we바카라 사이트re all on the same team.
We all want the same thing: a Team GB, that바카라 사이트s there for everyone, where every child can grow up healthy, where everyone is treated like an individual.
That바카라 사이트s the future of public health, and that바카라 사이트s what I believe we can achieve if we work together.