Public health works across communities and populations rather than at the level of the individual. It emphasises collective responsibility for health, its protection and disease prevention. Key to this is the recognition of the key role of the state, linked to a concern for the underlying socio-economic and wider determinants of health, as well as disease. Partnership working with all those who contribute to the health of the population is a main aim of public health action at all levels – nationally, regionally and locally.
More information on the national picture
In practice this means:
- Working with regional and local government and local National Health Service bodies to ensure that all of the contributory factors to both ill health and better health are recognised and addressed in policies and activities. For example we are working to improve the region's health by tackling obesity and increasing the levels of activity. The West Midlands has a significant obesity problem, with the highest proportion of females aged 16-24 years, who are either overweight or obese (37.9%). The main factors associated with these rising levels of obesity, particularly among children, are poor diet and an inactive lifestyle.
- Developing the wider public health group including working in close partnership with West Midlands Public Health Observatory (WMPHO).
- Ensuring that the public have confidence in what the NHS does. This includes working with partner organisations such as the Health Protection Agency at all levels as well as local NHS bodies including NHS West Midlands, NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts to ensure that areas where there is a risk of loss of public confidence are effectively managed.
- Supporting the NHS by providing professional leadership development, advice and intervention where appropriate.
For more information please contact the Department of Health (West Midlands).
Big Drink Debate
Advanced Notice - West Midlands to Hold Big Drink Debate
Monday 29 September 2008 (provisional launch date)
This autumn, people who live and work in the region will have the opportunity to give their opinions on various issues to do with the subject of Alcohol. The West Midlands has a somewhat volatile relationship with alcohol, with some of our local areas featuring amongst the worst for alcohol related hospital admissions in the country. This debate will give people the opportunity to voice their opinion about what they think should be done to reduce the impact of alcohol related harm.
The Big Drink Debate West Midlands is currently being developed but if anyone is interested in getting involved in helping to run local events or giving the debate a push when the time comes then please contact the Department of Health (West Midlands).
Government Alcohol Policy Pricing and Promotion Consultation
A number of key consultation documents have now been released as policy makers seek views on key proposals to change the way the industry is regulated for price and promotion, and the role of the NHS.
The consultation asks for views on:
· how a new alcohol retailing code could be used to end poor retailing practice that leads to alcohol-related health and social harm
· whether this code should be backed up by new legislation to make it mandatory
· what action the Government should take if the voluntary agreement on alcohol labelling is not implemented
· what more can be done by the NHS and others to make sure advice and help on alcohol are available for those who need them.
The Department of Health has released a series of documents that include the evidence from independent reviews, new statistics and recommendations on how policy may change the way the industry is regulated.
Key documents include:
· Safe, Sensible, Social - consultation on further action
· Pricing and promotion review
· Labelling review
· The cost of alcohol harm to the NHS in England
· KPMG independent review on the industry's social responsibility standards.
A closing date of October 14th has been set for consultation responses. The consultation can be accessed from the link below.
Alcohol Units campaign
A new 'Units' campaign which aims to tell drinkers how many units are in their drinks and help them stick to their limits is launched.
The Know Your Limits campaign - the biggest alcohol awareness campaign to date - kicks off its Units strand with a series of adverts on TV, radio, billboards and in press, depicting the number of units in individual drinks.
The campaign uses iconic imagery to help people understand how many units are in typical alcoholic drinks, and how to stay within the recommended daily guidelines for regular drinking of 2-3 units a day for women, and 3-4 units a day for men. The campaign will also warn people about how regularly drinking too much can damage their health.
The campaign is launched on the same day as results of a new YouGov poll, which reveals that 77 per cent of the people interviewed didn't know how many units were in a typical large glass of wine.
Please see links below for further information on units.
Alcohol in the West Midlands 2007
The West Midlands Regional Alcohol Group (WMRAG) has launched a new report Alcohol in the West Midlands 2007. The report presents local information about the impact of alcohol on communities across the region ranging for example from alcohol related deaths to alcohol related crimes.
As well as providing information the report also makes recommendations to local partnerships such as Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) as to what they can do to help reduce the negative impacts of alcohol on their communities. Many of these recommendations are based upon the Government's 2007 national alcohol plan Safe, Sensible, Social.
Key points in the report include:
- Around 2,600 people died from alcohol related medical conditions in the West Midlands in 2005
- In the last two years over 2,000 children under 18 were admitted to hospital in the region because of alcohol
- Some areas of the West Midlands see three times as many alcohol related hospital admissions than others
- For every 1,000 people in the West Midlands, there were around 7 violent crimes related to alcohol misuse in the last year.
Please see link below for a copy of the report.
