![]() ![]() To improve the health of the UK population, we need to look beyond ill health, to determinants like our surroundings that can create good health. He laughed and said ‘not a sick charity then’. I told him that I worked for a health charity. Once off the train, a taxi driver asked me what I did for a living. Underlying these necessary changes is an important point about how we understand and talk about health more generally. Finally, the views and knowledge of local communities are vital in creating environments that offer the opportunities that people want and need.For example, design features such as seating, greenery and restricting traffic can increase retail footfall by around 30%. There needs to be greater recognition of how improving surroundings can also help protect the environment and support local economies, which in turn impact on health.This means that planning decisions that affect people’s surroundings may become inextricably linked to health. This requires prospective policies to go through a Health Impact Assessment to foresee the likely impact on health. ![]() An example of this in action is the new Public Health (Wales) Act. ![]()
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