The British Liver Trust has joined 55 other organisations to support an important joint statement that calls for the Government to show its commitment for local public health funding.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK, local public health services were struggling to keep up with growing demand and health inequalities were widening. With the continued focus on responding to and recovering from COVID-19, improving and sustaining the health and wellbeing of our population and levelling up health experiences and outcomes must be a core priority for the UK Government.
A strong commitment to prioritise and adequately fund disease prevention and health improvement functions locally, regionally and nationally must be at the core of the government’s spending priorities. Sustainable investment in local public health functions and services is a vital part of this.
Vanessa Hebditch, Director of Policy and Communications at the British Liver Trust, says: “Liver disease is on the rise in the UK but 90% of cases can be prevented through lifestyle changes.
“Services supporting people to make those changes are often led locally and can be very cost-effective. For example, we know that investing £1 in alcohol treatment will save £3 in the long run, as well as directly helping affected individuals, often the most vulnerable in society. Unfortunately, these are the services that are often cut when times are hard.”