This week saw the Full Council meet again. It was a relatively short agenda: Read the Full Council Meeting Agenda.
At this meet we heard from the Director of Public Health, Dr Tim Allison, who presented his annual report. This year the focus is on health inequalities.
As Tim says, tackling health inequalities is about fairness and ensuring that everyone has the best chance of a long and healthy life.
You wonder what health has to do with the Council, “isn’t that the job of the NHS or the HSCP?”
What you may not know is that research shows that health and social care accounts for only 20% of what determines health. Social and economic factors account for 40%, the environment for 10% and health behaviours 30%. So in essence, everything we do can impact on health inequalities and help to prevent ill health. Important to consider when we are designing our services for the future.
Dr Allison also touched on the personal responsibility that we all have to look after our own health. So it’s worth thinking about our own behaviours, our diet, exercise, alcohol and tobacco consumption and whether we can make changes to have a positive impact on our own lives.
I may not have made it to the gym yesterday but I did climb the Scotsman steps (iykyk) in Edinburgh with my suitcase and I’m claiming that as extra cardio!
If you are interested in reading more you can find Dr Allison’s report here Director of Public Health annual reports | NHS Highland
Enjoy your weekend.
Pippa
Pippa Milne
Chief Executive
