Government publishes health snapshot

The Department of Health is set to publish local profiles detailing the nation’s health for use by every local council in England.

Public health minister Caroline Flint will make the information, detailing a range of issues such as life expectancy and smoking, available from Friday (June 22nd).

It is a move designed to help councils and the health service decide where to best target resources. And the government believes publishing a health snapshot will help the NHS tackle inequalities at a local level.

Apparently, the profiles show an overall improvement in the nation’s health, although health ministers highlight a wide discrepancy between the results of the healthiest and least healthy areas, indicating the need for further work.

Ms Flint said: “Information about health and wellbeing in your local area is essential for assessing the needs of the local population and monitoring how well health improvement strategies are working.

She highlighted smoking as a priority area for the government: “We already know ten million adults smoke, but knowing where the local problem areas are helps target quit-smoking programmes effectively.”

Britain’s public spaces will go smoke free from July 1st.