Local government's reputation in public health

When you are young, you tend to think having more money will make you happier. As you get older, this declines, and more of us say that being healthier would make us happier – and now local government is involved in this! In Ipsos surveys, most people in Britain describe their health as good (76%), and this hasn’t changed in 20 years. What has changed is that we now are about three times more likely to be obese, and drink about four times more alcohol than in 1945, while living longer than ever with debilitating conditions. One challenge it faces is that whereas the NHS remains a revered British institution, local government’s own reputation is rather patchy. This means that what some might see as nanny state measures by the NHS will be more tolerated than by Bloggsville Council. The NHS also never sends out bills, and while its managers come in for some stick, they are more trusted than local politicians. There are huge challenges in public opinion in this area – 52% want the NHS to treat everyone, even if they have self inflicted diseases from drinking and smoking, but at the same time tend to think it is up to individuals to take responsibility for their health (66%) rather than the NHS (9%). So public health is a huge opportunity for local government – the public SAY the one thing that would make them healthier is better and especially cheaper local leisure facilities (ahead of health advice from their GP). Now, experience suggests that what people say and what they do are not always the same – which is why we always undertake observation based-ethnographic research to understand health issues better, and why councils need to make sure they don't interpret headline numbers at face value, as they start to get to grips with the mass of data the NHS holds on their local population.

Originally published in The MJ, 26 February 2013