Buckinghamshire Council adopts new Health and Wellbeing Strategy

The vision is to further improve the health and wellbeing of residents by working across health, social care, voluntary and community organisations and with our communities to help people live healthier and more independent lives.

The strategy focuses on improvements across all ages and all aspects of health and wellbeing including physical and mental health, social care and other factors that drive our health and wellbeing – such as housing, the economy, employment and the environment.

The Buckinghamshire Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy – 2035, ‘Helping People Live Healthier and More Independent Lives’, was developed in partnership with NHS organisations, Healthwatch, voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, and local residents. It sets out the following key priorities:

• Empowering communities – working with people and communities to empower them to live active and fulfilling lives, including a focus on the wider determinants of health such as housing, employment and education.
• Prevention – a greater emphasis on preventing illness, community support and encouraging independence so people can live healthier and more independent lives.
• Proactive care – working proactively with partners to identify and support people with needs to prevent escalation of their condition or decline of their overall health and wellbeing.

Cllr Isobel Darby, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing, said:

“Our residents are at the heart of everything we do. Our aim is not only to treat ill-health but to prevent it wherever possible. This strategy is a major step towards our vision for every resident to live a healthier, happier life, with equal opportunities to thrive – regardless of their background or where they live.

“We’re building on the successes of the 2022–25 strategy, which has already delivered important initiatives. These include helping children to ‘start well’ through tailored support to achieve a healthy weight; supporting residents to ‘live well’ with programmes like Good Food Retail, improving access to healthier, affordable and culturally appropriate food; and launching Qwell, a new digital mental health platform.

"We’re also helping residents to ‘age well’ through initiatives like Move Together Buckinghamshire, which supports older people to stay active and healthy — and we’re preparing to launch the Adults Social Care Prevention Service, a new person-centred offer designed to support older adults to improve their wellbeing and stay independent for longer.

“Alongside these initiatives, we’ve seen real progress: fewer women smoking at the time of giving birth, more health checks for people experiencing inequalities, and an increase in over-65s accessing talking therapies.

“Finally, I want to thank all our residents for their feedback and engagement, which has helped shape this ambitious ten-year plan.”

To find out more, view the full strategy.