FPH President comments on the Government's prevention vision

Today, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, published his vision for how he plans to transform the government's approach to prevention, paving the way for a green paper in 2019. 

In reaction to the launch of Matt Hancock's paper called 'Prevention is better than cure', Prof John Middleton, President of the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH), said:

“FPH warmly welcomes the Secretary of State’s announcement of a prevention green paper that seeks to put prevention at the heart of national and local government policy.

“A new cross-government focus on prevention is the key to the long-term sustainability of not only our health and social system but all of our public services.

“We are particularly pleased that the Secretary of State has confirmed that prevention will be at the heart of the forthcoming NHS long-term plan, an aspiration FPH members have said is essential to tackle the complex health problems of the 21st century.

“The Secretary of State is absolutely right that we need to look at the balance of spending across government and invest more in prevention services. He is also right that to significantly improve people’s health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities we need to look at their environments and social circumstances including their housing, education, workplace, transport and the environment. This will require a cross-government commitment and support from business, employers, charities, local communities and others.

“FPH’s public health funding campaign is looking at how we can support this vision and we look forward to working with the Secretary of State closely over the coming months to realise his vision for a healthier, happier population.”

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About the UK Faculty of Public Health

FPH is a membership organisation for 4,000 public health professionals from across the UK and around the world, and is a registered charity. Our role is to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities and national populations. We support the training of public health professionals and campaign to improve health policy in partnership with local and national governments.

For further information, please contact:

Haidee O’Donnell
Senior media & comms officer
Tel: 020 3696 1478
Email: haideeodonnell@fph.org.uk