The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a major conditions strategy which will incorporate planned stand-alone strategies for mental health strategy and a 10-year cancer plan for England.
The new major conditions strategy will cover the six major groups of conditions that most affect the population in England including cancers, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.
The department initially launched a call for evidence for two individual plans: on mental health and wellbeing and a separate suicide prevention strategy, as well as a separate call for evidence on a stand-alone 10-year cancer plan for England.
An original call for evidence was intended to inform two individual plans – a mental health and wellbeing plan and a separate suicide prevention strategy.
More than 5,000 people responded to the mental health and suicide prevention call for evidence including 4,559 individuals and 573 organisations – many of which were collated responses following group discussions with people with lived experience.
The 10-year cancer plan for England received 5,557 responses including 4,822 responses from individuals who wanted to share their personal experiences, and 735 from professionals and organisations.
The new major conditions strategy call for evidence complements and will build upon the two calls for evidence on mental health and cancer, focusing on the other condition groups government is seeking to address in the strategy, as well as how to improve the outcomes for those living with multiple conditions.
DHSC intends to publish an interim report on the major conditions strategy in the summer of 2023.
It added it intends to publish a new national suicide prevention strategy for England this year which will update the previous strategy published in 2012.
This will reflect new evidence and national priorities for preventing suicides across England including actions to tackle known risk factors and targeted actions for groups of concern.
DHSC explained this strategy will be “collaborative, and importantly, cross-government” in scope to fully reflect a range of preventative activity.
While a national strategy, it will also seek to support the broader sector, and local areas, in shaping and embedding activity to prevent self-harm and suicide.