New Collaboration for Health Equity formed to tackle poor health in Scotland

Public Health Scotland (PHS), University College London’s Institute of Health Equity (IHE) and three of Scotland’s local authority areas have formed a partnership to strengthen and accelerate action to improve health and reduce health inequalities in Scotland.

The partnership, the Collaboration for Health Equity in Scotland (CHES), will see PHS join forces with IHE, a leading global Health Institute led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and work in partnership with Local Authority and NHS boards across Aberdeen City, North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. Insight and learning from the Collaboration will be shared and used to support work across the whole country.

People in Scotland die younger than in any other country in western Europe, with those in the poorest areas dying a decade before their neighbours in the wealthiest areas. The IHE, with its proven track record in working with more than 50 local authorities, the NHS, businesses and voluntary sector, is ideally placed to work with us to tackle these inequalities.

Since becoming a ‘Marmot City’ (England’s equivalent to a CHES local site), Coventry has seen an increase of six months in life expectancy, a reduction in number of areas rated in England’s poorest neighbourhoods, improvements in school readiness at age five, positive changes in health outcomes, enhanced life satisfaction, employment gains and reductions in crime in priority locations.

PHS and the IHE will collect and analyse data from local areas to provide strategic advice and coaching, with the aim of ensuring that people's 'social determinants' – the circumstances in which they are born, grow, live, work and age – form building blocks for good health, rather than cause illness and lower life expectancy.

Alongside the strategic advisory work, PHS is developing a national Learning System, which will be available to all local authorities across Scotland.

It aims to:

• gather and integrate learning from all parts of the system about what is and isn’t working to improve health and tackle health inequalities
• actively share learning to accelerate action and drive improvements in health equity

Paul Johnston, Chief Executive at PHS said:

“This Collaboration combines the national expertise of Public Health Scotland and the Institute for Health Equity with local insight and experiences from organisations in the three areas. If we are to address the stark inequalities that exist in Scotland and create conditions in which people can thrive in their communities, we need to bring together partners across the whole system – the public, private and voluntary sector.

“We’re looking forward to working and learning together with a determined focus to see improvement in Scotland’s long-term health outcomes.”

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the IHE said:

“Most of our health is determined by the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age (social determinants of health). National action that improves people’s living, learning and working conditions, such as housing, education and employment, needs to be combined with local action to ensure policies are applicable to local communities.

“By drawing on the data that both the IHE and PHS hold on the drivers of health inequalities and applying the learning we have gained from working in places like Coventry and Hull, we can support local partners to develop policies and actions that work locally.”

More information about CHES can be found on our website: www.publichealthscotland.scot/CHES

Read more about the IHE: www.instituteofhealthequity.org