The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock MP, has outlined his vision for the future health and care system.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director, iHV said:

“The Institute very much welcomes this long overdue focus on prevention.  We hope that it is understood that effective prevention starts at the start of life or earlier.  Investing then can ensure a much healthier population who stand a much better chance of realising the Minister’s ambitions. We hope that this vision therefore will be accompanied by new investment into health visiting, national standards for best practice and a ring-fenced budget.”

The document sets out the government’s vision for:

  • stopping health problems from arising in the first place
  • supporting people to manage their health problems when they do arise

The goal is to improve healthy life expectancy by at least 5 extra years, by 2035, and to close the gap between the richest and poorest.