Liverpool’s priorities and challenges

 The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that addressing growing levels of mental ill health is one of the defining public health challenges of our time. 

Whilst children were less likely than adults to have been hospitalised with the virus, their access to health care, education and social support has been badly disrupted and their mental health has been disproportionately affected. Liverpool are committed to undertaking a review of the 0 –19 service in 2023 to ensure it is appropriate to meet the needs of local families.

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the effect on many people with pre-existing long-term health conditions. Many people will have deteriorated faster than usual since the pandemic started. Furthermore, early intervention programmes such as the NHS Health check stopped during the pandemic so it was a priority to restart health improvement programmes.

Liverpool remain committed to a prevention-focused and behaviour change programme in relation to HIV locally. This year has also seen the emergence of Monkeypox (now re-named MPox), a rare disease spread by close contact between humans (including during sex). It mainly occurs in Central and West Africa, but this year moved across countries and a global outbreak followed. 

Liverpool remains committed to the ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) programme. Now in its second year, ADDER is an innovative and targeted programme aiming to reduce drug-related offending, drug deaths and prevalence of drug use.

The NHS we all value and rely on was never meant to go it alone. It was supposed to be part of a wider system supporting people from cradle to grave; with decent jobs, pay, homes and education – these are called the wider determinants of health. Liverpool Marmot Partnership Group has been developed to tackle the wider determinants in Liverpool by working together to tackle issues around housing, income, climate change and Mental Health. Liverpool has also continued to commit to the Healthy Cities Network which recognises the wider determinants of health and the need to work in collaboration across the public, private, voluntary and community organisations to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.