Making health your business
The latest independent report from our director of public health was presented to the Brighton & Hove Health & Wellbeing Board on Tuesday 9 June 2020.
In his report our Director of Public Health, Alistair Hill, explains how work and health is a two way relationship. Good work, with a decent wage and good working conditions, is good for health, and investing in health & wellbeing supports a strong economy.
Helping people get ready for a good working life needs to start early. Tackling inequality in educational outcomes and supporting personal progression are important to reduce income, employment and health inequalities in later life
People who are unable to benefit from being in good work are at increased risk of poor health. This disproportionately affects some of our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods and residents, including people with mental health conditions and physical and learning disabilities. The NHS has a key role to play in supporting people with long term conditions to stay in work.
Looking to the future, we will be spending more years in work. Supporting people to stay in good work for longer can help keep people keep healthy and age well.
The report also contains tips for local employers to create healthier workplaces and highlights some of the local projects that support people into work and make our workplaces more inclusive.
This report was put together before the COVID-19 pandemic but Alistair explains how it’s still important now:
“Covid-19 has had a massive impact on physical and mental health and has transformed our working lives. We must make sure we support people to work in different settings and continue to focus on the importance of infection control in our workplaces.
“We’ve also now seen first-hand how a public health crisis can cause an economic crisis and increase health inequalities.
“As we come out of this phase of the pandemic we face many challenges but we need to look for opportunities to make our workplaces and working lives healthier too.
“Health & wellbeing has to be at the heart of our recovery.”
Read the annual report, 'Making health your business' or find out more about public health in Brighton & Hove.
