Public health

• Dementia added to NHS Health Check programme

  Healthcare professionals in GP surgeries will soon be able to offer advice on how patients can reduce their dementia risk, Whitehall says.

  

• Loneliness prevention initiatives can save councils £2m, council chiefs say

  National health policy needs to recognise the ‘cost-effective benefits’ of initiatives designed to tackle loneliness, local government leaders say.

  

• Car pollution costs health services £6bn a year, study reveals

  Pollution from cars and vans costs £6bn per year in ‘health damages’, new research has revealed.

  

• Council chiefs warn health budget cuts ‘undermining’ fight against STIs

  Cuts to public health budgets have made tackling sexually transmitted infections a ‘significant challenge’, warn local authority leaders.

  

• Local government leaders warn of ‘toxic’ skin creams

  Council chiefs have warned against buying ‘suspiciously cheap’ skin creams because of a possible cancer risk.

  

• Cross-party MPs call for national obesity strategy

  A national obesity strategy would help strengthen existing services and replicate best practice across the country, according to a new report.

  

• Nurse shortage leads to increase in sexually transmitted infections

  Nurses have warned cuts to public health budgets are forcing them to turn people away from sexual health clinics due to the resulting staff shortages.

  

• Barnsley to become ‘sugar-free town’

  Barnsley Council is developing a food plan aimed at creating a ‘sugar-free town’ as part of the struggle against obesity.

  

• Nine out of ten councils forced to cut health services, study reveals

  Nine out of 10 councils have cut spending on public health services in response to Government reductions to their budgets.

  

• Increase in drug-related deaths linked to health cuts

  Whitehall should reverse its cuts to local authority public health grants in order to tackle the increase in drug-related deaths, doctors say.