The Emphasis of the UK Government on the Prevention of Diseases - Term Paper Example

Strength and Weaknesses of three Government Schemes Introduction The government plays a critical role in enforcing healthy lifestyles with the key emphasis being one the way people behave and manage their habits. There are the main strategies that the United Kingdom government has adopted. The areas assessed include personal physical health, sexual health, and mental health. Among these strategies, various governmental policies have been developed, but this paper will solely concentrate on these three principles and the way the government is emphasizing these strategies to protect the health of the people in order to improve their perception. The UK government has taken a different approach to the entire world instead of investing in the pharmaceutical industry. It mostly emphasizes on the proactive rather than the reactive treatment in three main fields, which are the physical health, mental health and the sexual health and focuses on improving the health as opposed to improving the methods of curing the ailments associated with these three fields. Physical Health Strategies The rise in the number of chronic ailments in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world has been steadily increasing in the past few years (UK Government, 2012). The rise in the diseases such as obesity and cancer as well as other ailments can largely be blamed on the fact that people have relatively unhealthy lifestyles. Additionally, the lack of medical check-ups also contributes majorly to the fact that these people do not take control of their health or their body’s wellbeing. As such, the main concentration of this policy is on the improvement of the people’s lifestyles and taking charge of their health and physical wellbeing. This policy has also prompted the government to cut the funding given to hospitals, not due to the rise in costs of health alone but also as a strategy to reinforce the need to prevent diseases and improve the health of the people in the society (Public Health England, 2013). According to the Department Of Health in the United Kingdom, the budget for the health industry is going to shrink to £5.2 billion, a policy that commenced in the 2013/2014 (UK Government, 2012). The reduction in the budget also has an incentive added to it. Instead of the health issuing mandatory requirements for the various local governments and their health industry to abide by the budget, the government is going to give a cash incentive for the local governments that are able to reduce the cases of health within their locality. Several government incentives developed to ensure that the health of the people has been judged accordingly. The measurement principle focuses on several issues. Dental health, for instance, will be judged through the assessment of the number of children below the ages of five with tooth decay (Department of Health, 2013). A reduction in the cases of tooth decay will be analysed through the assessment of the previous recording of tooth decay cases reported in the previous year compared to the new statistics. This assessment thus proposes an increase in the awareness of the health issues to the people in these municipalities and this encouragement of parents to care about the dental health of their children (The Loyal British Legion, 2013). Another strategy used to govern the progress made by the people in a certain municipality is the recoding of weight levels of all people. People in a given location must abide by reducing their weight levels. This would be judged by the way that the government shows or concentrates on the reduction of weight among obese people, and the reduction in the number of obese people in given municipal governments (HM Government, 2008). This approach is highly advocated for not only by the UK government, but also rather by governments and health bodies all around the world. This is because weight gain has been one of the key areas that needs to be assessed critically. The third lens through which the progress in public health would be viewed is the reduction in issues of falls among elderly people. For UK, geriatrics is a key area of concern that needs to be assessed (FPA, 2013). Taking care of the elderly is hence crucial to ensure that the old are better taken care of. This incentive has driven more hospitals to offer home services in consideration to health, giving the elderly a better chance of enjoying their old age. People over the age of 65 should lead much healthier lifestyles. The government has also enforced this strategy to increase the retirement age to 70 years, with the contention that the country would be much healthier. Other areas include reduced smoking, increased breastfeeding among mothers, and reduced mortality rates from chronic ailments such as heart disease or cancer. The main strategy is strong since it will lead to the development of a healthier population through the ‘forceful but fair’ strategy of reduced budgeting. However, the government should have not reduced the budget that considerably, since the health industry will now be less motivated to work or assist the public improves their health levels. The reduced budget should have been offset through the issuing of bonuses to medical practitioners in these regions, hence improving their motivation and devotion to the program. The cash incentive given to the local governments will be viewed in a negative light and this would thus not motivate the health industry to work towards the improvement of the health of the people. Mental Health The role of mental health in the society is crucial because it not only leads to a better workforce, but also stimulates the health of all people in the society. The government has launched a campaign, No Health without Mental Health, to combat the increase in mental illnesses such as depression and dementia, which have equally been on the rise in the past few decades. The lack of concentration on mental health among people in the country and all over the world has stimulated increased mental cases, which has made it increasingly difficult for the community to progress. One of the approaches of the mental health strategy is not only based on the having the hospitals and other medical healthcare fields to improve the mental health of the society, but rather focuses on the society to assist in the reduction of the mental cases. This is because the society is still the major cause of the increase in the mental healthcare issues. This not only circulates the around the community interactions, but also concentrates on the development of policies that reduce societal stigmatization such as reduced cases of racism and any forms of discrimination. Other policies have also been developed to reduce mental issues in the society. One of the ways through which the government is emphasizing on the need to reduce the mental ailments is the development of focus areas. The focus areas include the Child and Adolescent Mental Health, the Community, Inpatient and Crisis Mental Health Services, alteration of the mental health management strategies and eventually Activity to Support Delivery of the Mental Health Strategy (The Scottish Government, 2012). The use of new technology to mitigate mental problems is also a key investment that the government has made. There are several strengths and weaknesses of this policy. One of the key strengths is that it is based on preventative and both reactive features of the mental field. One way through which the government improves people’s health is through the creation of preventive measures such as childhood-adolescent smooth transition strategies. Another key strength of the policy is that it has a higher area of concentration, owing to the fact one out of six people report mental health issues in the UK, and thus the mental health prevention program will have significant results on the population. A key weakness, however, is that the government emphasizes on optional incentives since the strategy is based on requesting the community to create an environment which does not foster mental problems. This would mean a complete restructure of the culture of the people and will take much time and effort for such an environment to be created. Regardless, this policy will work effectively once fully functional. Sexual Health Sexual health, though marginally ignored by most healthcare systems, has been largely emphasized by the UK government. The sexual health policy calls for an increase in the budget accorded to sexual health, and has had the area restructured to local governments. A commission of groups is to be developed to cover the sexual health of the people (Mental Health Foundation, 2013). Sexual health not only concentrates on sexually transmitted ailments, but also marginally concentrates on reduced teenage pregnancies or contraceptives, HIV prevention and the promotion of sexual health. The concentration of sexual health has been one of the most financed incentives. Whereas for other programs, the concentration is on reduced spending or funding. The concentration is on protective incentives that require minimal investment in the health industry; the investment in the sexual health has increased. It is expected to increase further, with a considerable amount of the health budget devoted to this cause. Abortion is another key consideration of the sexual health policy. Despite the fact that the policy does not emphasize for abortion, it does not oppose it also. Regardless, the use of contraception and the reduction of teen pregnancies is a proactive method of preventing or reducing the instances of abortion. One of the key strengths about this strategy is the fact that it concentrates on one of the areas that have been marginally ignored in the society, yet a very significant feature. Through this concentration, population issues, mental issues and physical issues are assessed as well. Another key strength of this policy is that the government is promoting sexual education, which is vital for the control of the population and the stress associated with premature births as well as teenage pregnancies. However, as strong as the policy is, it has a few weaknesses. The funding being accorded to the area will only facilitate the development of new ways of contraception and reduction in the engagement of protected sex, which would thus result in the possibility of increased STIs an area that is already being opposed by the policy, hence deeming it contradictory. However, if the finances were used to lead an awareness campaign that would collectively lead to increased awareness and reduced unprotected sexual intercourse, the outcome would be more rewarding. Conclusion The emphasis of the UK government on prevention of diseases as opposed to the curing the ailment once they occur. The prevention approach as opposed to curing the people is meant to lead the improvement of the health of the people. The focus on mental health is a key approach that seeks to improve the way people live their lives, instead of promoting health through managing the effects of their lifestyles. The healthier lifestyle approach, for the mental, the sexual and the physical health are strategies that would lead to a healthier lifestyle for the UK people leading to increased life expectancy and reduced mortality rates. References Department of Health. (15 May 2014). Care Bill becomes Care Act 2014. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/care-bill-becomes-care-act-2014 Public Health England. (April 2013). Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A public health workforce strategy. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/204792/2900899_28781_Healthy_lives_v0.8.pdf HM Government. (January 2008). Healthy Weight, Healthy lives: a cross-government strategy For England. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407220245/http:/www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_084024.pdf The Loyal British Legion. (February 2011). Public Policy Unit – NHS White Paper Briefing Healthy Lives, Healthy People. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from http://www.armedforceshealthpartnership.org.uk/media/29742/NHSPublicHealthWhitePaperBriefing_Feb11.pdf FPA. (March 2012). What does the Health and Social Care Bill mean for sexual health services in England? Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from http://www.thh.nhs.uk/documents/_Patients/PatientLeaflets/general/Choosing_Health-EasyRead-DoH.pdf The Scottish Government. (March 2012). Seven Key Themes. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Services/Mental-Health/Strategy Mental Health Foundation. (June 2013). No Health Without Mental Health: A guide for Clinical Commissioning Groups. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 http://www.mind.org.uk/media/343129/No_Health_Without_Mental_Health_CCG.pdf UK Government. (23 January 2012). Helping people live healthier lives: the future for public health. Retrieved on 27th May, 2014 from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/helping-people-live-healthier-lives-the-future-for-public-health Read More