Essay
Role of national organisations in health
Explain how organisations in public health work together to improve public health.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Millie May WatsonUnit 24 p2 and m1
P2 – Explain the role of national organisations and practitioners in promoting public
health
M1- Explain how organisations and practitioners work together on strategies to promote
public health.
Introduction
The different organizations in public health are World Health organization (WHO), NHS,
Public Health England, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), Food
Standards Agency, Health and Safety Executive and Third Sector (Diabetes UK and British
Heart Foundation).
The different practitioners in public health are Midwives, GP, Health Visitor, Environmental
health officer, Public health inspector and Health Promotion officer.
The main aim of these organizations and practitioners that work within them is to improve
health so that the public are protected from disease and also to prevent spread of disease
within the public. These organizations and practitioners protect community health and
wellbeing.
P2- Organisation - NHS
The NHS play a huge role in prevention of disease/illness as well as a huge role in treatment.
The NHS is also responsible for helping people to improve their health and wellbeing 1 by
providing money for smoking support groups, educational courses for things such as Type 2
diabetes, cardiac rehabilitation as well as exercise programmes. The NHS aim to support the
public to keep mentally and physically well as well as helping us get better when we are ill
and, when we cannot fully recover, to stay as well as we can to the end of our lives. 2 The
NHS often play a role in promoting public health by giving support and advice to people with
particular illnesses, or those who are engaging in risky lifestyle choices such as smoking or
alcohol abuse which often prevents further issues occurring like lung related illnesses. The
NHS will then treat illnesses to help individuals get back to full health.
The key issues that they work on are obesity/ Type 2 diabetes, smoking, diet and alcohol,
antibiotic resistance, vaccinations, cancer, mental health, air pollution and maternity care. 3
For cancer, the NHS Long Term Plan for Cancer states that “where appropriate every person
diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including needs assessment, a
care plan and health and wellbeing information and support. In 2016, NHS England
introduced a plan for hospitals to encourage healthier food options to be available for staff
and patients limiting the proportion, placement and promotion of foods high in fat, salt and
sugar due to the large impact obesity has on the NHS.
According to statistics, the NHS deals with issues such as obesity due to how many
individuals are classed as obese for example, 1 in 4 adults are classed as obese and a further
1
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/
2
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england
3
https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2019/01/08/the-nhs-long-term-plan-10-key-public-health-points/
, Millie May Watson
Unit 24 p2 and m1
62% are overweight which would cost the NHS a lot of money as they have to treat
conditions as a result of this. Further statistics show that 7 million cases of diabetes, cancer
and heart disease are caused as a result of obesity. Therefore, helping treat/manage this
allows individuals to be at less risk of getting diagnosed with these conditions meaning that
individuals are healthier and have a better quality of life. 4 Furthermore, the NHS deals with
issues such as vaccinations due to the impact that it has on public health. For instance,
vaccinations promote “herd immunity” which is defined to be the resistance to the spread
of an infectious disease within a population. According to statistics of immunisation, it states
that 86.2% of Britain is vaccinated against most infectious diseases. 5This reduces outbreaks
of disease which puts less strain on the NHS which allows them to focus and treat other
conditions.
The main roles of the NHS in promoting public health are to prevent and treat conditions.
They aim to advise and support individuals to improving their lifestyle and maintaining a
healthy diet as well as mindset to ensure that the public live a physical and mentally healthy
lifestyle as well as providing help if not possible. The NHS play a very crucial role in allowing
the public to live good quality lives and treating illnesses to help restore health.
P2- Practitioner Midwife
A midwife’s role is to support and care for mothers and new-born children during birth.
They provide advice, information and emotional support for mothers, fathers as well as
others involved in the birth. Midwives have an important role in promoting public health as
they protect the health of women and encourage them to make healthy lifestyle choices
during pregnancy and post-pregnancy. This in turn promotes the health and well-being of
society by reducing health inequalities, stillbirth, premature birth and low birthweight
babies as well as reducing risk of babies being born with diseases/conditions such as Foetal
Alcohol syndrome. 6
Midwives work with key issues within their role such as, breastfeeding, domestic violence,
mental health and smoking cessation which is giving support to stop people smoking.
Midwives offer interventions to help deal with these key issues for example, screening,
support, advice on breastfeeding and mental health support. One reason why Midwives
focus on smoking cessation is due to the impact smoking has on mothers as well as their
unborn children. The NHS say that smoking causes a much larger risk of developing health
conditions. Furthermore, smoking during pregnancy raises the risk of your baby being born
with birth defects. The most common types of problems are congenital heart defects and
problems with the structure of the heart. Furthermore, midwives deal with breastfeeding
issues as they aim to encourage mothers to do it. This is because breastfeeding gives babies
the best start for a healthy life and has benefits for the health and wellbeing of mothers and
babies such as, it boosts baby's immune system meaning they are able to fight off illnesses
easier as well as less postpartum bleeding.
4
https://www.healthexpress.co.uk/obesity/uk-statistics#
5
https://www.immunology.org/news/immunisation-statistics
6
https://www.nursinginpractice.com/professional/the-key-role-midwives-play-in-promoting-public-health/
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller milliemaywatson. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £6.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53340 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now