Our new strategy for 2019 - 2022 places a clear emphasis on the Trust being in strong relationships. We will influence policy and decision-makers through local and national partnerships and welcome opportunities to form new partnerships to do so.
In 2020 it is ten years since the Marmot Review was published. The report stated unequivocally that the fundamental causes of health inequalities were political (unequal policies and wealth) and environmental impacts (work, learning, access to services, housing etc). The work was an important moment, building on similar findings in the UK and worldwide over previous decades. The Marmot Review attempted to shift the focus away from blaming individuals and towards the impact that wider socio-economic circumstances have on health. It called on governments to work holistically to both resolve and avoid health inequalities.
Almost ten years on, and the rhetoric may have changed to some extent but there are still too few real attempts, in policy and practice, to address health inequalities and their fundamental causes. Health inequalities in Great Britain remain stark and public spending on preventative socio-economic factors associated with ill-health remains seriously low.
It is high time for radical changes which will reverse stalling and falling life expectancy.
To make a real impact and ensure that we start closing the widening health gap, we need a concerted effort, including brave policies and strong cross-sector partnerships which place local people at the heart of decisions that affect them. Through our new strategic plan, we will continue to work with local people and form new partnerships to influence locally and nationally.
The Trust will focus its next three years on three strategic areas of work:
- Creating healthier and more equal neighbourhoods by acting on the things which bring about good health and wellbeing locally
- Working with partners to establish long term ways for working together to act on the real causes of health inequality
- Being the best organisation we can for the organisations we fund and our staff.
These areas will form part of a longer plan involving working with partners to have a real impact on health inequalities by acting firmly and decisively on the social and economic determinants of heath, using local and national indicators for measurement.
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Read more about our three strategic objectives
