Hancock pledges to invest in prevention to tackle “root causes” of ill health

England’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, has pledged to invest more in primary and community care services and in tackling the social determinants of health as part of a major policy focus on prevention.

Hancock has made prevention one of his early priorities for the NHS.1 In a speech2 to the International Association of National Public Health Institutes on 5 November, he announced a forthcoming government green paper to take forward plans to place greater emphasis on early intervention and self management to improve the nation’s health.

As well as diverting more investment …