Director of Public Health Mike Kelly explains the reasons why producing NICE local government health briefings will benefit those responsible for comminssioning health services.
NICE should expand its programme of local government briefings to cover a wide range of new topics such as poverty, workplace wellbeing, malnutrition and sexual health, say experts.
NICE published its first public health briefings in August 2012 to help local government prepare to take back the commissioning of public health services from 1 April 2013.
The briefings aim to make it easier for Directors of Public Health, elected members and senior officers in local authorities to find out which public health actions are most effective whilst also providing the best value for money.
They raise awareness and provide information about the existing evidence-based recommendations and evidence reviews from NICE that local government can call upon when commissioning public health services.
They are developed with input from councillors and local government officers, the briefings are based on recommendations from existing NICE public health and clinical guidance.
Currently, NICE has produced eight briefings on topics such as alcohol misuse and tobacco control, with a further four briefings currently in development.
Speaking at the NICE Annual Conference in Birmingham, Tony Lewis, from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, welcomed the NICE briefings and called for an expansion in the number of briefings.
“The level of engagement and knowledge of NICE local government briefings is low. Many environmental health practitioners associate NICE with medical practice.
“There is a firm desire in my organisation to work in partnership with NICE on a series of new briefings on home, work and the wider environment. This would include topics such as poverty, malnutrition, food poverty and workplace wellbeing.”
Penny Barber, Area Director for the Midlands for the charity Brook, added: “NICE guidance is very much part of our work in providing sexual health services.
“We need to promote the guidance a lot more and a briefing around sexual health would be great, especially if it pulls together some of the existing NICE guidance recommendations.
“Money spent in this area is well invested. We know from the Kings Fund that every £1 spent on sexual health saves £12.50.”
Richard Hunt, Chair, Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers Association, said that the NICE briefings were important at a time of change within local government.
“We need the NICE briefings for sector leaders to use locally to show what's the best value for money,” he said.