First set of NICE public health quality standards revealed
15 May 2013 04:48 PM
Mike Kelly, Director of Public Health at NICE reacts to the announcement that NICE will produce public health quality standards.
NICE's quality standards programme will be substantially broadened to cover topics affecting public health, it was announced yesterday.
In his keynote speech this morning at NICE's annual conference, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Quality Lord Howe said that NICE will work with experts from Public Health England to initially develop three new public health quality standards.
The standards will cover reducing tobacco use in the community, preventing harmful alcohol use, and strategies to prevent obesity in adults and children.
Tackling public health is of increasing importance in England with smoking and alcohol misuse placing a growing burden on the NHS.
Smoking is currently the leading cause of preventable death in England, and an estimated 1.5 million people currently show signs of alcohol dependence. Diseases related to alcohol accounting for 1 in 8 NHS bed days.
The majority of people in England are also currently either overweight or obese, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes heart disease and certain cancers, and costs the NHS more than £5 billion per year.
The new quality standards will be based on existing public health guidance produced by NICE, and will consist of a set of statements designed to drive and measure improvements in healthcare.
They follow the introduction of new public health responsibilities for local authorities which came into effect in April 2013.
Lord Howe said: "NICE has had a public health remit since 2005 and during this time it has developed extensive guidance aimed at tackling many of the key determinants of public health.
"We want to build on that success, and I can announce today that I have asked NICE to develop the first quality standards for public health. Public health quality standards alongside and integrated with those for health and social care will provide a key tool to support Public Health England, local authorities and the wider public health community in achieving excellence."
He added: "Our vision is over the next five years there will be a growing portfolio of NICE quality standards covering all the domains in all three outcomes frameworks."
Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Health and Social Care at NICE said: "We are very pleased to have been asked to produce public health quality standards.
"They will be a valuable tool for local authorities as they take on their new public health functions, and for Public Health England. By bridging the interface across health, social care and public health, NICE public health quality standards will help support integration across the three sectors.
"They will also ensure that those responsible for commissioning services will have access to the complete picture of what "
The first public health quality on smoking cessation is expected to be published in August 2013. This will be followed by a consultation on further topics for the longer term work programme.