Raiding the public health budget

摘要

Local authorities across England are diverting ringfenced funds for public health to wider council services to plug gaps caused by government budget cuts, a BMJ investigation has found.The BMJ also found that public health staffing in some parts of the country is being scaled back to save money. Professional organisations have warned that public health's voice may be drowned out in local government and that its workforce is spread too thinly.The investigation found examples of councils reducing funding for a wide range of public health services, including those for substance misuse, sexual health, smoking cessation, obesity, and school nursing.