… from Social Determinants of Health Advocacy Network (29 June 2015)

While we agree that there is much work to be done in reforming clinical services, a healthy population can best be achieved by looking beyond health care, focusing on prevention, acting on the underlying causes of poor health and working with sectors outside of health.

The Social Determinants of Health Advocacy Network (SDoHAN) acknowledges that access to safe, quality, timely and appropriate health care is important but this must not come at the expense of recognising the long-term gains that can be made by investing in prevention. If the Government doesn’t recognise prevention as a central goal, the sustainability of its clinical services will be undermined.

In Tasmania there is a preoccupation with hospitals, not health. Focusing more on preventive and population health can reduce the frustration that many doctors feel in being unable to address the underlying cause of many of the health problems they encounter among their patients.

Members of the Social Determinants of Health Advocacy Network (SDoHAN) work together to achieve effective action on the social determinants of health in Tasmania. We believe that all Tasmanians should have the opportunity to live a healthy life regardless of their income, education, employment, gender, sexuality, capabilities, cultural background, who they are or where they live.

We take a keen interest in both strategic and local level initiatives to improve the health of Tasmanians.

We are disappointed that the Government has chosen to make the development of its strategic plan for preventive health in Tasmania a secondary priority and has not devised a more comprehensive strategy that integrates preventative health at all levels of the system.

We are also concerned about whether the Government has any plans to undertake broad stakeholder engagement or consultation in the development of its preventive health plan.

We offer the attached advice to Government on how to make Tasmania the healthiest population in Australia by 2025.

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SDoHAN_key_messages_FINAL_June_2015.pdf
Miriam Vandenberg, Social Determinants of Health Advocacy Network