A new era of public health

With the demise of Public Health England, we see the emergence of two separate bodies: the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which will focus on improving health and preventing health inequalities; and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which will focus on health protection. OHID aims to ‘co-ordinate an ambitious programme across central and local government, the NHS and wider society, drawing on expert advice, analysis and evidence, to drive improvements in the public's health.’

This is greatly needed. Statistics show that men in the most deprived areas in England are expected to live nearly 10 years fewer than those in the least deprived. Women in the same areas can expect to live 7 years fewer. A recent report in The Guardian suggested that child obesity is linked to health disparities, and the number of overweight or obese children in England could be reduced by hundreds of thousands if health outcomes were levelled up to the areas of the country where they are best (Gregory, 2021). Diabetes UK have been warning that their analysis shows that 1 in 10 adults could be living with type 2 diabetes by 2030 if no action is taken (Diabetes UK, 2021).