FE sector is key to relieving mounting pressure on NHS services, finds new report

Further education colleges are key to relieving mounting pressure on NHS services, says a new report from the Association of Colleges.  

At a time when the NHS is at crisis point and facing unpreceded increases in healthcare costs, the health sector, government, local councils, and mayoral strategic authorities (MSAs) should recognise the crucial role the FE sector can play in delivering on the aims set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan, it adds.  

The report, From treatment to prevention: how colleges can build a healthier society, highlights how colleges across the country are already delivering on preventative health in their communities and tackling growing health inequalities.  

Activities include hosting weekly eye clinics and drop-in ECG screening services on college campuses, delivering integrated mental health services for students and staff, running physical activity and healthy eating initiatives to tackle growing obesity rates, and supporting those with health-related barriers to employment through behavioural change. 

With 12 detailed case studies included, the report demonstrates the significant impact colleges have on the health of their communities. 

However, it finds that many colleges face significant challenges, particularly due to a lack of coordination across preventative health at a local and regional level, and because they struggle to build sustained partnerships with their local NHS organisations. 

The report calls on all stakeholders to come together to ensure colleges are part of overall plans and work through stronger coordination at a local, regional and national level. 

David Hughes, Chief Executive of Association of Colleges, said:

“As anchor institutions, colleges reach all parts of a community and therefore are well-placed to support the move from sickness to prevention. As this report highlights, there is excellent work going on in colleges across the country, however, much of what colleges do is not recognised and usually under-utilised – in the health sector, in the local government sector, and by colleges themselves.  

“They face significant challenges, particularly due to a lack of join-up across preventative health at a local, regional and national level; and a great deal of the work is entirely unfunded, putting significant resourcing constraints on how much colleges can do.   

“We recognise that colleges, and us at the Association of Colleges, also have work to do here, and I urge the health sector, local and national government to proactively engage with us and our members so together we can address the underlying drivers of ill-health and tackle health inequalities, and ultimately become a healthier, happier nation.” 

Ruth Rankine, Director of Primary Care and Neighbourhood lead, NHS Confederation said:

“The NHS Confederation has long championed a joined-up approach between health, education and economic growth. Indeed, the government’s work and health programme and the increasing influence of strategic authority mayors over the delivery of healthcare in their regions will see these policy areas becoming intrinsically linked in the future. 

“With their strong links into communities, colleges are not only conduits to train the next generation of workers for our NHS, but also to embed healthy habits in communities, support people into high quality work and improve mental health and wellbeing. Their estate could also play a key role in ensuring that everyone is able to access care close to where they live and tap into communities where engagement with NHS services is low. 

“This report highlights colleges as anchor institutions that could be important in supporting the government’s neighbourhood health agenda, which we believe is essential in boosting prevention and delivering healthier communities.” 

Recommendations in full 

All stakeholders 

• All stakeholders should recognise the role of colleges and ensure that they are part of the overall plans and work through stronger coordination at a local, regional and national level.

Government  

• The government should work to amplify and deepen the role of colleges in this strand of the health mission. This should include ensuring college representation on relevant mission boards, working to embed the role of colleges in the strategic development of objectives and considering where best practice can be scaled up through a test and learn approach.   

• The government should work with colleges to identify where funding approaches constrict partnership working and where flexibilities would allow more innovative approaches.   

• The government should set out clearer guidelines on where decisions should be made and the responsibilities of the different bodies in regards to health issues such as anti-smoking.   

• The government should consider clear incentives for colleges to deliver preventative health. For example, the Department for Education could consider including preventative health as a nonmandatory topic within annual strategic conversations with colleges.  

MSAs and local councils   

• MSA and local councils should empower colleges to deliver preventative health locally, by including them in local public health strategies, on relevant boards and within funding opportunities.   

• MSAs and local councils should explore the role of the adult skills fund (ASF) and particular funded streams (such as ESOL funding) in delivering public health outcomes such as tackling growing rates of loneliness and self-isolation and enabling individuals to manage their own health.   

• MSAs and local councils should consider where regional guidance would be more effective (for example, in local Get Britain Working Plans) and where approaches are better guided at a college level (for example, utilising college facilities to deliver preventative health).   

• MSAs should consider commissioning colleges as part of their activities to tackle health inequalities under their new health duties.   

• MSAs and local councils should work with colleges to identify where funding approaches constrict partnership working and where flexibilities would allow more innovative approaches.

• Health and wellbeing boards should develop clearer guidelines for coordination and colleges should be represented on boards. 

Colleges  

• College boards should consider having a standing item on their agenda (perhaps annually) to regularly reflect on their public health responsibilities, including opportunities to work with others.   

• Colleges should recognise how key activities that they carry out can be built into a wider local plan for preventative health, including through working to develop a locally networked approach to coordinating interventions, with health and care partners, and other community organisations.   

• Colleges should prioritise engagement on relevant boards, such as health and wellbeing boards, in order to pursue opportunities.   

• Colleges should review their relationships with relevant individuals and key organisations, for example directors of public health, ICB leads, etc, to understand where engagement needs to be developed and where there are opportunities to collaborate.   

• Colleges should work with directors of public health to understand the local authority-led joint strategic needs assessment and recognise where they can contribute.   

• Colleges should work with their local ICBs to share data around health inequalities.   

• Colleges should consider having stronger monitoring and evaluation processes in place to measure the outcomes of initiatives to evidence the impact they have on preventative health. They should place this within the context of health objectives when engaging health partners or when applying for commissioning.  

Health 

• Health organisations should consider co-funding or direct funding of college preventative health activities, such as through social prescribing.  

• ICBs should consider colleges in commissioning processes for preventative health.  

• Colleges should be consulted in the development of neighbourhood health plans 

• ICBs should ensure that colleges are included as partners to work with in achieving economic inactivity aims. 

AoC  

• AoC should produce a toolkit on stakeholder mapping to support colleges to identify the key individuals across the local health agenda and understand where engagement is needed.   

• AoC should develop an outcomes framework for colleges to utilise to demonstrate the role that they are playing in preventative health and the impact that initiatives are having, to support their conversations with health partners and in bidding for commissioning.   

• AoC should explore the possibility of further analytical work exploring the outcomes of preventative health initiatives carried out by colleges and the impact this has on population health and demand on NHS services.