National Health Priorities and Targets

Choosing Health

In 2004 the Department of Health produced its first ever White Paper on Public Health - Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier.  Choosing Health set out a wide range of proposed actions to address major public health problems, placing population health and health inequalities at the centre of the Government’s health policy agenda.

Choosing Health has identified the following priorities for action:

• Reducing smoking rates

 

• Reducing obesity and improving diet and nutrition

 

• Increasing exercise

 

• Encouraging and supporting sensible drinking

 

• Improving sexual health

 

• Improving mental health

National Targets

These priorities need to be considered in conjunction with a number of national targets that have been set over the past few years. In 1999, Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation identified targets aimed at reducing deaths from the four main killers: cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke, accidents and mental illness. Targets for life expectancy, infant mortality and health inequalities, were added in February 2001.

These were all formalised in the July 2004 document National Standards, Local Action :

Improve the health of the population.  By 2010, increase life expectancy at birth in England to 78.6 years for men and to 82.5 years for women.

Substantially reduce mortality rates by 2010 (from the Our Healthier Nation baseline, 1995-97)

From coronary heart disease and stroke and related diseases by at least 40% in people under 75, with a 40% reduction in the inequalities gap between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators & the population as a whole.

From cancer by at least 20% in people under 75, with a reduction in the inequalities gap of at least 6% between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators & the population as a whole.

From suicide and undetermined injury by at least 20%.

Reduce health inequalities by 2010, by 10% as measured by infant mortality and life expectancy at birth [from a 1995-97 baseline].

The infant mortality and life expectancy at birth health outcomes have been underpinned by two more detailed objectives:

Starting with children under one year, by 2010 to reduce by at least 10% the gap in mortality between ‘routine and manual’ groups and the population as a whole.

Starting with local authorities, by 2010 to reduce by at least 10 per cent the gap between the fifth of areas with the lowest life expectancy at birth and the population as a whole.

Tackle the underlying determinants of ill health and health inequalities by:

• reducing adult smoking rates (from 26% in 2002) to 21% or less by 2010, with a reduction in prevalence among routine and manual groups (from 31% in 2002) to 26% or less;

 

• halting the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010 (from the 2002-04 baseline) in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole.

 

• reducing the under-18 conception rate by 50% by 2010 (from the 1998 baseline), as part of a broader strategy to improve sexual health.

The importance of the national health inequalities targets were reinforced by their inclusion at the top of the list of 6 service priorities in the NHS Operating Framework 2006/7, as one of 4 service priorities again in the NHS Operating Framework 2007/8, and as one of the 5 national priorities in the Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2008/09.