Scottish Ministers have established a group to take forward a review of public health in Scotland. On behalf of the review group please find attached an initial engagement paper. The engagement paper gives the terms of reference for the review and asks a number of key questions to help inform the work of the group. The review group would welcome your consideration of the engagement paper and any views and evidence that you can offer in response to the questions. The review group would be most grateful if you could complete the response form on page 5 of the engagement paper and return to publichealthreview@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by 12 March 2015.
The initial stakeholder copy list for the engagement paper is available.
Scottish Ministers announced in November 2014 that they had asked for a review of public health in Scotland and had established an expert group to take this forward and report back in 2015. The review group, chaired by Dr Hamish Wilson, met for the first time in December 2014 when it agreed that it was important to get views and input from a wide range of stakeholders to help inform the review.
This paper provides the context for the Ministerial announcement and sets out the terms of reference for the review. It also outlines key challenges and potential opportunities for public health.
The review group would welcome stakeholder responses to the engagement questions and would be grateful if the paper could be shared widely so that the group can have the benefit of feedback from a range of stakeholders, recognising that responsibilities for addressing public health issues sit not only within the health sector but also in local and national government, the community and voluntary sector, and the private sector. This paper is intended as a stimulus for initial engagement and will be followed by further opportunities for engagement, for example through regional and national meetings.
Public Health
Public health has been defined as the activity and outcomes associated with “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society”1. The public health function involves mobilising local, national and international resources to focus resources, policies, services and wider societal processes to promote improved health and wellbeing in the population.
The public health function (or endeavour) can be defined as “a robust, adequately resourced system that can secure and sustain the public’s health, addressing health and associated policy issues at a population level and leading a co-ordinated effort to tackle underlying causes of poor health2. For this function to be successful it needs to be delivered in partnership with individuals, communities, Scottish Government, local government, public, private and third sector organisations.
The three key domains of public health defined by the Faculty of Public Health are health improvement, improving health services and health protection. A fourth area comprises public health intelligence and evidence: the data and research evidence that underpin effective public health policy and practice. The public health review will encompass the spectrum of activities incorporated within these definitions of public health.
