Healthy Living
Introduction to Healthy Living and Public Health
This section of the web site provides information on a range of areas all of which contribute to Public Health in Haringey.
Public Health is concerned with the overall health of a community. It is not just about health care, but fundamental to health and wellbeing in its widest context. It includes diverse areas from safe roads, healthy schools and school meals to immunisation and regular health checks as well as working across the community to make sure that services are provided as necessary based on the best available evidence and that they are accessible to the people that need them.
Public health is concerned with preventing ill health and thus help individuals to achieve their health and wellbeing potential but fundamentally Public Health is about looking at the community as a whole to work to improve the health of the whole population and minimise inequalities.
The World Health organisation states:
Good health is essential to human welfare and to sustained economic and social development.Public Health encompasses three broad areas:
- Health improvement - This encompasses health promotion and encouraging individuals and communities to take responsibility for their own health as far as possible.
- Health protection - This incorporates communicable diseases and manmade and/or natural disasters and minimising the impact of these, by promoting screening, immunisation and vaccination and having robust emergency plans.
- Health care and public health – This incorporates clinical and research governance and the quality of service available. Public Health is about working with commissioners and providers of health care. Ensuring care is provided appropriate to the needs of the population and has value for money.
The overall mission of the Public Health Directorate in Haringey is;
To improve the health and wellbeing of all in Haringey and reduce the inequalities across the community, based on our knowledge of the population and knowing what works so we can influence change. We will achieve this through effective leadership, advocacy and engagement with colleagues partners and communities.The Public Health Directorate produce two key strategic documents to support this work.
1. Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)
Is a key document for all agencies that have a role in improving health and well-being locally.
The JSNA provides the evidence and the framework for steering service developments based on the recognised priorities. It examines all the factors that impact on the health and well-being of local communities, including employment, education, housing, and environmental factors as well as health and social care services.
2. The Annual Public Health Report
Is designed to raise awareness to key issues of concern to public health in the local area.
This section of the NHS Haringey web site aims to give people up to date and relevant information on a wide variety of health topics so they can be well informed about the services available. Each topic area also directs to reputable national web sites.
Go to the public health report section on this website »
