NHS long-term plan must prioritise prevention

Public Health England has claimed that the NHS can help those living older enjoy better health by prioritising the prevention of smoking, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and obesity in the new long-term plan.

Speaking at the NHS Expo, Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, said that the NHS long-term plan should commit to achieving a smokefree society by 2030 and a population prevalence of less than five per cent, changing the perception of smoking as a lifestyle choice to an addiction that needs medical treatment.

As well as claiming that reducing smoking rates is the single biggest thing we can do to improve the nation’s health, PHE also states that reducing smoking rates will save the NHS up to £890 million a year.

An estimated 50 to 80 per cent of CVD cases are preventable, so PHE says that the long-term plan could save 250 to 500 lives each year across England by prioritising the identification of people who are at risk of developing CVD. Furthermore, better detection and management of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and atrial fibrillation could prevent more than 9,000 heart attacks and at least 14,000 strokes from happening in the next three years.

Discussing obesity, with one in three children leave primary school overweight or obese, the childhood obesity plan has a commitment to halve the rate of childhood obesity by 2030. However, by increasing weight management support provided, and making it routine for people to have their BMI measured and recorded in primary care and pharmacy settings, Selfie says that more can eb done to tackle obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Selbie said: “With the right long-term plan in place we can remove smoking from England, halve childhood obesity and the number of avoidable deaths from cardiovascular disease. These three priorities are where the NHS and PHE should focus efforts. It is not that other priorities won’t matter, but these will need to matter most. Successful delivery will require action from every part of civil society. We must pull together to use our resources and we must engage the public directly in the choices they are making about their own health and well-being.”