The King's Fund responds to the publication of the Public Health Outcomes Framework

Responding to the publication of the Public Health Outcomes Framework, The King’s Fund’s Senior Fellow on public health, David Buck, said:

‘The deferral of key decisions on public health has added to the uncertainty created by the structural reorganisation of the NHS, so today’s announcement begins to provide some welcome clarity about the government’s plans for public health.

‘We support the focus in on improving population health outcomes and reducing health inequalities. However, publishing data alone will not be enough. The key tests of whether ministerial rhetoric on public health is matched by reality will follow in the next few weeks, with the announcement of how shadow budgets will be allocated to local authorities and the publication of the alcohol strategy.

‘The moves to align the different outcomes frameworks by including shared indicators on premature mortality between the NHS and public health are welcome. However, further work is needed to align governance and accountability for delivery to ensure that the NHS and local authorities are pulling in the same direction.’