Better Health For All

As part of FPH’s Public Health Funding campaign, we are undertaking a project examining the role that NHS organisations play in prevention.

We have received an award from the Health Foundation to carry forward a varied work programme over the course of 9 months, involving our members from across the UK and other key partner organisations. The project aims to:

• Build a better understanding of how the NHS currently delivers prevention
• Understand what ‘good’ prevention in the NHS looks like
• Explore the barriers and enablers for NHS organisations seeking to take a more preventive approach
• Determine initial priorities for increased investment or focus – including interventions, approaches, and workforce needs

As part of our work so far, we have commissioned an evidence review exploring prevention in the NHS, which looks at 3 main topics:

1. What are the main types of prevention work researched in various NHS settings?
2. What are the benefits of prevention programmes in the NHS?
3. What helps and hinders prevention in the NHS?

The review is a unique and fantastic overview of prevention approaches in different NHS settings. It looks at impact, what works and what doesn’t, and what might improve current approaches if done well. The review highlights the importance of a systems approach, and engaging with both staff and the public. For a summary of some of the main takeaways please have a read of this blog or have a read of the review itself.

We also held a stakeholder workshop in October gathering expert opinions on prevention in the NHS, which we used to inform part of FPH’s submission to the NHS long term plan consultation. Attendees at the workshop included representatives from NHS England, Public Health England, Cancer Research UK, and the Royal College of Physicians.

A key takeaway from the day was that this is a complex topic, but colleagues across the health field are committed to supporting the NHS to do more, better, and system-wide prevention. We will soon be publishing our first in a series of discussion papers, summarising our learning so far and discussing some of the tensions we still need to reconcile. We’ll also be posing some key questions around the evidence base and priority areas for action that we will need our members to help us answer. We then plan on hosting two more workshops in the Spring to continue building our evidence-base and drawing together expert advice and consensus.

This is a really exciting piece of work and has been expertly supported by the wider FPH team and our Public Health Funding Advisory Board, who graciously give up their time to contribute. Please stay tuned to the FPH blog and follow FPH on Twitter to hear more about the progress of the campaign. If you wish to comment, contribute, or donate to the campaign please contact policy@fph.org.uk or visit the public health funding page of the FPH website by clicking here.

Written by Ahmed Razavi, Specialty Registrar in Public Health and member of FPH’s Public Health Funding Project Group