NHS Fife’s Director of Public Health Report was officially launched at a recent event at Viewforth High School in Kirkcaldy.
The Director of Public Health Annual Report sets out the key issues affecting the health and wellbeing for people in Fife, and is intended to help enable more targeted local responses to be developed.
Where in previous years, the report has looked at the health and wellbeing of the entire population, this year’s report focuses on the variety of factors affecting children and young people in Fife, covering physical and mental health and wellbeing, and tackling inequalities.
The report, which was presented to the NHS Fife Board in July, looked in detail at a number of key areas affecting the health and wellbeing of children and young people. This included child poverty and the cost of living, It also highlights opportunities to strengthen children’s rights through the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the promise commitment to care experienced children and young people.
The launch event at Viewforth High School, which was hosted jointly with Fife Council’s Education Service, brought together professionals from a range of agencies, many of whom contributed to the report.
Pupils from Inverkeithing High School also attended the event and presented some key findings of a recent survey into the health and wellbeing concerns of children and young people in Fife.
NHS Fife’s Director of Public Health, Dr Joy Tomlinson, said:
“Our Director of Public Health Report gives us platform to really highlight the issues affecting the health and wellbeing of our population.
“In this year’s report we have taken a different tack than we have previously, focussing on our children and young people and recognising the significant impacts that children and young people have experienced due to the pandemic and the disruption to education resulting from it. Similarly, we know that poverty has a significant negative impact on the wellbeing of children and young people, which especially pertinent in the midst of the current cost of living crisis.
“While the NHS has a crucial role to play, so too do our colleagues in our partner agencies, who also made considerable contributions to our report. Given the theme of this year’s report, it was vital also to listen to the voices of our children and young people. The initial findings from the recent Health and Wellbeing Survey, which was completed by more than 20,000 young people in Fife, complements our report and I was delighted that we were able to formally launch our annual report at Viewforth with our colleagues in Fife’s education service.”
NHS Fife’s Director of Public Health Annual Report is available in fill on the NHS Fife website.
Audio:
Dr Joy Tomlinson discusses the new Director of Public Health Annual Report - [DOWNLOAD]
Image:
Caption:(Left to Right) - Alex Paton, Pupil - Inverkeithing High School; Heather Bett, Senior Manager - Community Childrens Services; Dr Joy Tomlinson, Director of Public Health; Dr Lorna Watson, Deputy Director of Public Health; Pam Colburn, Quality Improvement Officer - Fife Council; and Seth Tomlinson, Pupil - Inverkeithing High School).
