Long-term thinking resource could protect future generations health
Public Health Wales have launched a new service to help organisations use long-term thinking to reduce health inequalities.
It’s all well and good thinking about how current illnesses/diseases can be treated, but Public Health Wales have gone the extra mile and created a new resource that helps promote good health and prevents illness whenever possible.
Louisa Petchey, senior policy specialist at Public Health Wales, said: ‘This is a valuable resource to help organisations plan for a better future and fulfil their obligations under the well-being of Future Generations Act for Wales.
‘It offers practical help to identify next steps as well as essential insight into real-life examples where long-term thinking is being put to great use to help reduce health inequalities.
‘We are facing challenging times in Wales with our healthcare services, wider public sector and third sector are under great strain. This makes it more important than ever that we balance managing the crises of today with the preventing the crises of the future.’
Created in partnership with the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner, the new resource aims to reduce health inequality by exploring methods to enable long-term thinking and sharing case studies which show how those approaches have been applied in Wales.
Example of a case studies include defining a 100 year long-term strategy for the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, preparing for the long term implications of a new piece of environmental legislation in Wales and exploring what the housing system should/could look like.
When looking into these matters, the new resource will help guide users through various approaches to long-term thinking that have been used. It offers tips on approach, who to involve, time required, outputs, and recommends specific toolkits for more detailed guidance.
Derek Walker, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales said: ‘Health inequalities have a huge impact on the social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being of people in Wales.’
‘We need to consider how we can address and prevent these in the long-term so that our current and future generations have equal access to the building blocks of a healthy, happy life – education, housing, access to nature and social connections,’ Walker said. ‘In these times of uncertainty and complexity, it is more vital than ever that we think about the future impacts of our decisions and act now for a better tomorrow.’
Walker added: ‘This new resource can help people and organisations in Wales think and act longer-term and improve the lives and health of the people of Wales now and in the future.’
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