Public health experts in Wales say supporting people to stay well is key to addressing some of the current challenges facing the health and care system. Long-term conditions, which are potentially preventable or manageable through earlier intervention, are experienced by 48 per cent of adults in Wales, with 20 per cent living with two or more such conditions.

Musculoskeletal issues are the most reported (17 per cent), followed by mental health problems (12 per cent) and heart and circulatory conditions (11 per cent). In addition, avoidable deaths are twice as high in the most deprived communities compared to the least. 

To help improve this, Public Health Wales has developed a new approach aimed at embedding prevention into everyday decision-making across the system – helping people in Wales to live longer, healthier lives. 

The Prevention-Based Health and Care (PBHC) Framework identifies the key actions needed to ensure that services not only treat illness but also  improve health and wellbeing while reducing health inequalities.  

These include identifying people at risk earlier and aligning prevention work across the NHS and social care. 

Many prevention strategies are already being delivered in Wales, including the All Wales Diabetes Prevention Programme, Stop a Stroke, Falls Prevention services and more. 

The PBHC approach will aim to identify health risks earlier and by helping people stay well, it will reduce the impact of these conditions on individuals and the NHS. 

Prevention is also an important part of the solution to achieving sustainable health and care services, particularly in the face of growing pressures on the NHS. The PBHC Framework brings together a range of approaches to comprehensively embed prevention in the health and care system. This includes tackling health inequalities, managing the health of the population, improving healthcare services, and working with other sectors to make health a part of all policies and decisions.