New data presents an unequal national story on health and wellbeing across England.
It has long been recognised that the health of a population is strongly linked to the circumstances in which people live. Our index assesses 33 key health determinants and outcomes for the 324 English local authorities, to provide a coherent, national story on health and wellbeing. It highlights the scale and nature of inequality across the country and reiterates the need for a local, place-based approach to tackling health outcomes.
The purpose of this report is to help stakeholders – NHS providers and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), local authorities, health and social care providers, housing associations, fire authorities and the police – to improve collaboration through a better understanding of the correlation between the economic, social and environmental health determinants and the health outcomes within their locality.
It concludes with a checklist of questions to help facilitate discussions in the light of joint service needs assessments.
The data behind the index also allows segmentation, which reveals areas around the country with similar health determinants but better outcomes. This underscores the need to work in collaboration with peers that may not be 'next door' if there is an opportunity to learn from 'others like us'.