More than 60 senior members of staff from across the organisation came together recently at a public health vision session about population health.
This event was part of the series of vision sessions looking at planning for the future for a number of different services.
The focus was on reviewing our strategic priorities to improve population health and address inequalities. The workshop also focussed on identifying gaps for applying the population health framework in Lanarkshire that is currently being co-produced by the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, COSLA and Scottish Directors of Public Health. The session also highlighted the work that is being delivered by NHS Lanarkshire as an anchor organisation.
Delegates heard about the work being undertaken on three key priority areas: and the development of the National Population Health Framework:
- Cardiovascular disease prevention strategy from Nick Riches, Specialty Registrar, Public Health, NHS Lanarkshire
- Healthy weight – Obesity Public Health Action Team (PHAcT) by Karen McGuigan, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Lanarkshire
- Prioritisation Framework by Moira Straiton, Associate Director – Specialist Services & National Planning, NSS and Kirsty Orr, Head of Planning and Development, NHS Lanarkshire
The participants joined one of four workshops to explore how best to address key issues outlined in the population health framework that is currently under development and will be published later this year. This included the following:
- Tackling Child Poverty
- Building Healthy Environments
- Reducing drug-related harms
- Reducing inequalities in premature cardiovascular mortality
The event concluded with feedback from the workshops in terms of key priorities and actions that will be taken to address the issues.
Leading the session, Professor S. Josephine Pravinkumar, Director of Public Health & Health Policy, NHS Lanarkshire commented: “I would like to thank everyone for participating in the Population Health Vision session. It was great to hear about new ideas in order to help address the challenges in public health and the impact this has on improving the health of the people of Lanarkshire. I urged everyone to think about any small changes that could be made that would have the maximum impact for those working and living in Lanarkshire. I’m very much looking forward to working with our teams across NHS Lanarkshire, our health and social care partnerships, local authorities and other partners to take this work forward.”
To learn more about NHS Lanarkshire’s role as an anchor organisation please click here to watch a Public Health Scotland video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxeAimwbBWs
For further information about the public health directorate please visit: https://www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/services/public-health/
