Voluntary Health Scotland

Day

Tuesday 10 February

Time slot

11:00-12:00

Room

Ochil room
Wheelchair accessible

Contact

Roisin Hurst
07394 508 001

Topics

Health & social care Impact & evaluation Policy

Overall aim

Prevention is a critical piece for shaping health for the future; however, we are often hamstrung by NHS pressures. For a preventative approach to really work in Scotland, we need a clear and consistently applied definition of prevention across all policy development areas.

Prevention is complex and requires a whole system approach that includes the public, third and community sectors and those who directly experience health inequalities.

Our event will challenge panellists from across the third and public sectors to build a consensus on the top 3 actions required to transition to a prevention-centred health system. This lively discussion will:

• Define what we really mean when we talk about prevention – what is and isn’t preventative activity?
• Showcase the third sector’s leading examples of innovative and impactful preventative practice and initiatives.
• Explore the blockers we might face to achieving progress and the solutions that must be implemented.

Description

The reasons behind widening health inequalities are complex and multifaceted, and they ultimately lead to worse health outcomes and shorter lives for those facing social, economic, and physical disadvantages.

Recent major policies and frameworks including the Population Health Framework and the Public Service Reform Strategy have identified prevention as a pivotal approach to how public services should operate. The creation of a prevention-centred healthcare system is also a core ask in Voluntary Health Scotland’s recently published Manifesto for Health Creation and its Strategic Plan for 2025-2030.

Preventative approaches mean identifying and tackling root causes before negative outcomes occur. For health inequalities, this means dealing with the underlying causes that see some people in our communities experiencing less time in good health.

Our event will challenge panellists from across the third and public sectors to build a consensus on the top 3 actions required to transition to a prevention-centred health system. This is one of the key asks in Voluntary Health Scotland's recently published Manifesto for Health Creation.

Voluntary Health Scotland is a movement for health creation working to reduce health inequalities to enable the people of Scotland to live well. We believe that health is more than the absence of illness, and together with our members and partners we champion this belief. We collaborate to provide the national voice for third sector health organisations in Scotland.

Who is the event aimed at?

Frontline service delivery, Influencers, Managers

Who is speaking at this event?

TBC - senior leaders from the third and public sectors.