# How local government's relationship with the NHS is changing



## Northerner (Aug 27, 2013)

Although, arguably, local government has contributed more to the health of the nation over the last century than the NHS itself, the relationship between these two public service silos has often been troubled.

The currency of power and responsibilities has been one-way traffic: in 1974, large swathes of health provision that had remained with local government, including public health, moved across to the NHS as part of a huge reorganisation of both services. As medical journal the Lancet put it, running health services was "too important to be left to the local citizenry".

However, in 2013 the tide has turned. The government's NHS reforms see public health returned to its home in local government and local authorities are given a new leadership role through the creation of health and wellbeing boards, charged with promoting integrated services and setting local strategies for health and wellbeing. So will 2013 be a watershed moment in the relationship between the NHS and local government ?

Our latest research is encouraging. Relationships between councils and clinical commissioning groups are generally good, and getting better. The new health and wellbeing boards are investing time in developing relationships and joint strategies are in place. But these are early days and three key questions remain.

http://www.theguardian.com/local-go...rshed-moment-between-nhs-and-local-government


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