Published: 18 July 2025
Public Health Wales has co-produced a healthcare framework to support NHS Wales to become a preventative, fair, sustainable and learning healthcare system.
The body says that the implementation of the framework in the healthcare system requires a proactive and coordinated use of the public health principles of healthcare at all levels and areas of healthcare. This includes allocating resources proportionately to ensure change in prevention and tackling inequality in outcomes.
The framework recognizes the good work that is already happening across the system and proposes to further build capacity and capability to expand the efforts.
In addition to this, the framework includes a series of practical examples on Cardiovascular Disease and Falls Prevention. These will give concrete and practical support to partners in the system to tackle inequalities in waiting lists and prevent fragility fractures to try to help make this framework a reality.
Alongside the recently launched Prevention Based Health and Care framework , the organization aims to ensure a focus up the chain, and incorporate public health values to support the development of a sustainable healthcare system.
To support the implementation of the framework, a toolkit was produced which brings together a number of tools and frameworks that could be used alone or in combination to support healthcare settings, systems and partnerships to assess and optimize their services from a population perspective. The toolkit is a resource to help identify trends, needs, and differences within communities, and to support effective planning and delivery and make the most efficient use of resources.
Professor Jim McManus, National Director of Health and Wellbeing, Public Health Wales, said:
"Public Health Healthcare means the application of public health skills and expertise to support the effectiveness, equity and efficiency of health and social care. It has been an integral part since the establishment of the NHS, and prioritizes tackling inequalities, population needs and optimizing technology to help achieve a healthier society and meet future demand.
"This framework is the result of working in partnership and real collaboration across the whole system as well as with the Welsh Government, carried out in a proactive manner in order to develop ways of working that will have real benefits for the health and well-being of the people of Wales."