Welcome to the second publication in our series Provider voices, in which we promote the views of a select group of leaders on some of the key issues facing the NHS today.
We hope this will make a valuable contribution to discussions on how the health service can respond to the challenges ahead.
Our topic this time is Public health: everyone’s business? which, in our view, has never been more important nor more challenging. The Five-year forward view committed the health service to a “radical upgrade” in prevention and public health. There are many barriers. Progress can be patchy. But there is a strong evidence-base for what works, and new approaches and partnerships are taking root.
There are a range of important issues to discuss: promoting the public health role as we move towards accountable care, dealing with the challenges of constrained funding, harnessing digital technology, developing the role of the public health clinician and working to shape the wider determinants of health inequalities.
It’s great to have 12 different sets of answers to these questions from a range of perspectives. We are grateful to the leaders who took the time to contribute to this publication. And we are grateful to Andy Cowper for carrying out the interviews.
Chris Hopson
Chief Executive, NHS Providers