Harrow’s Health and Wellbeing Board is to consider the report ‘The prevention approach for the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board’ – but if residents were hoping for a bold action report, they’ll be left disappointed.
The paper is full of warm words about “systematic approaches” and “joint engagement,” but light on specifics. It promises everything from tackling childhood obesity to boosting economic wellbeing, yet offers no sense of priority, no concrete timelines, and no guarantee of resources. It’s a scattergun list, not a strategy.
We all know prevention is vital: keeping frail older people out of hospital, tackling the mental health crisis before it spills into A&E, supporting children early to break cycles of ill health. But without teeth – measurable targets, clear accountability, and actual investment – prevention remains nothing more than a buzzword.
The uncomfortable truth is this: health inequalities in Harrow are deepening now. Families are struggling now. Older residents are isolated now. Another round of “considering” and “discussing” does little to change that.
The report refers to the Harrow Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), a subgroup of the board, that provides a life-course, ‘evidence-based’ profile of community needs, including inequalities, demographics, and health trends.
However, the JSNA lacks evaluation transparency, with no public evidence of whether its findings meaningfully inform health outcomes, commissioning decisions, or policy changes. It also offers no measurable impact tracking – functioning more as a descriptive document than an evaluative tool. There is little indication of how identified needs translate into tangible improvements or service redesign. Without published progress updates or accessible dashboards, the JSNA risks serving as a static reporting exercise rather than a dynamic instrument for ongoing planning and accountability.
Across Harrow, service performance issues – from Adult Social Care (“requires improvement”) to Children’s Services (“inadequate”) – point to structural challenges in delivery and oversight.
If the Board is serious, it must move from rhetoric to results. That means focusing on the biggest local risks, funding real interventions, and showing the public how progress will be measured. Prevention delayed is prevention denied – and Harrow deserves better than another glossy report gathering dust.
Hope the members of the board would not just rubber-stamp the ‘The prevention approach for the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board’ report.
The paper is full of warm words about “systematic approaches” and “joint engagement,” but light on specifics. It promises everything from tackling childhood obesity to boosting economic wellbeing, yet offers no sense of priority, no concrete timelines, and no guarantee of resources. It’s a scattergun list, not a strategy.
We all know prevention is vital: keeping frail older people out of hospital, tackling the mental health crisis before it spills into A&E, supporting children early to break cycles of ill health. But without teeth – measurable targets, clear accountability, and actual investment – prevention remains nothing more than a buzzword.
The uncomfortable truth is this: health inequalities in Harrow are deepening now. Families are struggling now. Older residents are isolated now. Another round of “considering” and “discussing” does little to change that.
The report refers to the Harrow Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), a subgroup of the board, that provides a life-course, ‘evidence-based’ profile of community needs, including inequalities, demographics, and health trends.
However, the JSNA lacks evaluation transparency, with no public evidence of whether its findings meaningfully inform health outcomes, commissioning decisions, or policy changes. It also offers no measurable impact tracking – functioning more as a descriptive document than an evaluative tool. There is little indication of how identified needs translate into tangible improvements or service redesign. Without published progress updates or accessible dashboards, the JSNA risks serving as a static reporting exercise rather than a dynamic instrument for ongoing planning and accountability.
Across Harrow, service performance issues – from Adult Social Care (“requires improvement”) to Children’s Services (“inadequate”) – point to structural challenges in delivery and oversight.
If the Board is serious, it must move from rhetoric to results. That means focusing on the biggest local risks, funding real interventions, and showing the public how progress will be measured. Prevention delayed is prevention denied – and Harrow deserves better than another glossy report gathering dust.
Hope the members of the board would not just rubber-stamp the ‘The prevention approach for the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board’ report.
Harrow Monitoring Group 