OVERVIEW

Public health is more than a medical concern. For real, sustainable improvements across social scales, collaboration must be facilitated between local authorities, healthcare services, communities, social services, police, housing authorities, employers, and other public, private and third sector groups.

Next year will mark the legislated dawn of a new devolved public healthcare system, with a clear focus on people, places and empowerment. The Healthy Lives, Healthy People update called for local authorities to develop 'holistic approaches to improve health and wellbeing' when public health powers are shifted to them in April 2013, with the executive agency Public Health England also becoming active at this time.

Now, as we move closer from policy to practice, we must consider exactly what these approaches should be. How are we to design and implement effective interventions for a population with serious and interconnected health concerns?

Britain is the most obese nation in Europe; one in five children is obese, and nearly three million people have diabetes. By the time children have left secondary school, 200,000 have taken up smoking and 50,000 have contracted an STI. In addition to this, there are over a million alcohol related hospital admissions every year at a cost of over £3bn to the NHS, and five people die every day from drug misuse or its complications.

Health outcomes are still much worse for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, with people in the UK's poorest areas having a lifespan seven years shorter, on average, than those in more affluent areas. We must develop integrated, locally tailored solutions that can deliver successful outcomes across the nation, especially for those with complex needs.

Public Health: an update and way forward is the fifth in our successful series of public health events. Our panel of high-profile speakers will furnish delegates with the latest developments and look forward to how the reorganised service will be practically applied to improve outcomes for all.