ENGLAND can learn from Scotland’s population health framework which will “drive action and change” over the next decade, a health think tank has said.
The King’s Fund has said the framework from the Scottish Government and Cosla will be an “important guiding light” in recognising what determines Scotland’s population health and wellbeing “is more than health care”.
The think tank has been advocating for a stronger focus on population health in England for several years.
It insists Scotland’s plan is a “major step forward” and England “would do well to draw inspiration from its neighbour”.
“The framework will be an important guiding light over the next 10 years in recognising that what determines the Scottish population’s health and wellbeing is more than health care: that sectors and approaches need to work together to improve health (working well in their own silos is not enough), and that living a good life matters as well as length of life,” said David Buck from the King’s Fund.
The headline aim of the framework by 2035 is “to improve Scottish life expectancy whilst reducing the life expectancy gap between the most deprived 20% of local areas and the national average”.
Buck said it is important over time that the life expectancy aim does not “crowd out” wider government action on quality of life, but added: “So, yes, more to do but Scotland does now have a population framework to help cohere the national approach to population health – this is a major step forward.
“Despite the now released Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan, England has nothing equivalent.
“Although there is interest and action on population health, including in many places and systems that have used or adapted The King’s Fund framework, there is nothing that people can look to that provides coherence at national level to support the delivery of the government’s stated goal of halving the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.
“England would do well to draw inspiration from its neighbour.”
Scotland’s Population Health Framework sets out Scottish Government's and Cosla's long-term collective approach to improving Scotland’s health and reducing health inequalities for the next decade and was published last month.
It sets out how national and local government will work with public sector partners, community organisations and business to tackle the root causes of ill health.
The framework says after many decades of improvement in life expectancy, progress has stalled with the health of the population being eroded by “UK government austerity, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis”.
The plan says it represents “a shift in culture, from treating illness to prevention and a more whole system approach to improving health. It is the beginning of a live programme of change and improvement, with clear initial actions across the drivers of health and further actions to come over the ten-year period.”
Actions laid out in the framework include ensuring digital opportunities are maximised to improve the prevention of poor health and taking action to reduce the proportion of children with developmental concerns at 27 to 30 months including reducing inequalities.
It also aims to advance community wealth building in Scotland “to address economic and wealth inequality by supporting the generation, circulation and retention of more wealth in communities”.
