Health disparities: levelling up

October 2021 saw the formation of a new government body: the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). OHID is being promoted as ushering in a new era of public health to tackle inequalities, putting prevention at the heart of all it does with the intention of helping people live longer, healthier and happier lives.

We are told that OHID will improve health and tackle disparities in health outcomes countrywide, working with the NHS and local government, the wider public health system and industry to deliver on its mandate. The biggest preventable killers—including tobacco, obesity and alcohol—cost taxpayers billions of pounds to provide treatment and long-term care, as well as adding to bed capacity pressure in hospitals. Reducing health inequalities and keeping people in better health for longer is in all of our interests, hence the new approach to public health with a focus on stopping debilitating health conditions before they can develop.