wellbeing

Still fighting for the future of Wales

10 years of the Well-being of Future Generations Act in Wales

This is the first in a short series of blogs to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. This opening blog, from CLES’s Sarah Evans, focusses on the implementation of the Act, and considers what has worked and what have been the challenges. For those not familiar with the Act, it sets out Wales’s vision for a sustainable future and requires public bodies in Wales to consider the long-term impact of their decisions, work collaboratively with people, communities and each other, and to take action to prevent persistent challenges such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change.

When the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act was first implemented I was working at Glyndwr University and I remember being inspired about how it could shape our local and regional public services.

Read More

Community wealth (and health) building

This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal.

The purpose of our economy should be to generate good lives and wellbeing for all, and, in CLES’s final Community Wealth Building Conversation at the end of November, we got to hear first-hand about the myriad ways in which this progressive approach to economic development is helping to deliver better health outcomes for people and communities, through the actions of key anchor institutions. Three things stood out from the conversation.

First, there is growing evidence of impact.

Read More

How can health care organisations maximise their resources to improve population health? 

The Five Year Forward View and evolution towards integrated care systems have placed greater expectations on the NHS to work across a geographical area and maximise its resources to improve the health of a local population. And while this focus on place-based systems of care has spurred developments in the way services are designed and delivered to help prevent ill health and promote wellbeing, limited attention has been given to how the NHS can influence the economic conditions that help create health in the first place.

The impact the NHS has on people’s health extends well beyond its role as a provider of treatment and care. As large employers, purchasers, and capital asset holders, health care organisations are well positioned to use their spending power and resources to address the adverse social, economic and environmental factors that widen inequalities and contribute to poor health.

Read More