Experts Express Concern For Future Of Health Survey For England

Public wellness experts person expressed interest for nan early of a “vital” wellness survey, aft nan authorities said it would nary longer beryllium tally by NHS England.

The Health Survey for England, launched successful 1991, is an yearly study that collects information from astir 8,000 adults and 2,000 children crossed nan country, done face-to-face interviews and questionnaires.

It gathers information connected a scope of important wellness metrics specified arsenic tallness and weight, smoking and intoxicant use, pinch nationalist experts describing it arsenic an “arterial” root of information owed it being nationally typical and precocious quality.

At a briefing successful July by nan UK Data Service, nan authorities said nan 2025 version would beryllium nan past 1 because “NHS England will not beryllium prioritising organization wellness surveys successful its semipermanent strategical activity plan”.

The authorities has said that nan study is not being stood down, but will nary longer beryllium tally by NHS England. However, specifications regarding really nan study will beryllium tally person not yet been revealed arsenic nan authorities says it is presently exploring replacement ways of collecting nan aforesaid accusation arsenic nan wellness survey.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each person their ain individual wellness surveys.

Veena Raleigh, a elder chap astatine nan King’s Fund, said nan study was an “arterial root of accusation connected nan wellness of our population” that has been instrumental successful shaping and monitoring wellness services and argumentation decisions crossed England, including humor pressure, smoking and obesity.

She said: “Without nan Health Survey for England, we would not person invaluable information connected existent trends successful organization wellness and whether nan NHS is reaching and treating group and communities who are astir astatine consequence of mediocre health.

“At The King’s Fund nan study information has enabled america to measure trends and inequalities successful nan proportionality of group who person aggregate consequence factors specified arsenic smoking, mediocre fare and excess intoxicant use. The investigation would not person been imaginable without nan Health Survey for England data.”

Prof Kamila Hawthorne, nan chair of nan Royal College of GPs, said nan study would request to beryllium “replaced pinch thing similar, generating nan captious accusation that organisations crossed healthcare request to show changes successful nationalist health”.

She said: “Effective nationalist wellness policy, which has an effect connected our patients, relies connected up-to-date and bully value data, truthful it is concerning that NHS England is considering scrapping nan Health Survey for England.”

Prof Oyinlola Oyebode, acting head of nan Warwick Centre for Global Health, said nan study had provided captious information that had “revealed under-diagnosed conditions, specified arsenic glucosuria and chronic kidney disease, and tracked wellness trends for illustration obesity and secondhand fume exposure”.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The Health Survey for England is not being stood down. We are moving intimately pinch NHS England and nan Office for National Statistics to research replacement improved approaches to guarantee location is basal wellness monitoring beyond 2025.

“We will guarantee that decision-makers proceed to person entree to high-quality organization wellness information that improves wellness outcomes crossed England.”