Major public health services relating to contraception, dementia and cardiovascular disease prevention will come under the spotlight of an Isle of Wight Council committee tomorrow (Thursday).
The adult social care, public health and housing needs committee meets at 17:00 on Thursday afternoon.
It is due to consider a recommendation to spend up to £2,461,881 over 7 years on Public Health Primary Care Services, including Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) and NHS Health Checks.
Both services are ‘mandated public health responsibilities’ included in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and are funded under the terms of the government’s Public Health Grant, according to a council report prepared in advance of Thursday’s meeting.
It says:
“Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) is a public health service commissioned by Isle of Wight Council, as part of the sexual health services alongside contraceptive services provided by GP practices under NHS contracts.
“This service includes the fitting and removal of long-acting contraceptive coils and implants, which are highly effective and cost-efficient methods to prevent unintended pregnancies.
“The NHS Health Check programme is a nationally mandated public health service which aims to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as heart disease, stroke, type two diabetes, and kidney disease, and raise awareness of dementia both across the population and within high risk and vulnerable groups.
Article continues below this advertisement “CVD is responsible for one in four premature deaths (deaths under the age of 75); it is estimated that as much as 85 per cent of CVD related deaths are preventable.”
The report adds that the spending proposal ‘will contribute towards the delivery of the Isle of Wight Public Health Strategy 2025 – 2030 with a focus on prevention to improve the health and wellbeing of Island residents’.
This is a really misleading headline. Any self- respecting journalist should be ashamed. First, it’s over seven years, which is a much smaller sum per year. Second, contraception is only a part of primary care services. It might be a tiny part. Attention grabbing nonsense.
click bait is always the thing now. Most people would realize that contraception shouldnt be paid for by any government so people click on it like WTF.
Contraception should be paid for by EVERY government unless you think it’s a clever idea for those who can’t afford children to have 10 each who would also need to be paid for? Or maybe you think the Victorian age of poverty and overcrowding was cool?
At the Island Debate last Friday IW Council Leader Phil Jordan confirmed that £99/100 million is spent on Social Care and that they place residents on the mainland because it is cheaper.
(How is that beneficial to the resident when people cannot afford to visit?)
Today, there is an article on this website stating that £500,000 was spent for four months care for one child in an illegal care home.
Half a millions pounds could have been used to convert one of the closing primary schools into a care facility.
PLEASE stop wasting our money and start using our money wisely.
A bit late to start shooting the messengers…this is statutory care it HAS to be spent. It was drafted into law long, long ago under the National Assistance Act, replacing the Poor Laws. It was what underpinned the NHS. Basically what Tory idealism did from the 1980’s onwards was give private enterprise a blank check and said the taxpayers will foot the bill. And now, because we pay through the nose for the contracts we have had to cut the necessary services of prevention and timely treatment to such an extent that yet more companies can swoop in when there’s a crisis and charge whatever they like….because all councils have a statutory duty of care. Did you not know that when you voted?