Kim Lavely - The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health

ePolitix.com talks to Kim Lavely from the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health.

Question: Can you tell me about the work of the Foundation?

Kim Lavely: The Foundation’s work is all about encouraging a culture of health and wellbeing where people and communities are able to take greater responsibility for their own health.

We try to inspire and support health practitioners from different backgrounds and schools of thought to work together to provide the widest possible choice for patients so people have the best chance of not just getting well but staying well. 

We still find that some people aren’t clear what exactly integrated health is, so let me get that one out of the way.

Essentially it means an approach to health which looks at the person in the round, taking into account the effects on health of lifestyle, environment and emotional wellbeing.

It brings together the safest and most effective aspects of mainstream medical science and complementary healthcare. Integrated health is 100 per cent patient-centred, treating each person as an individual and looking at – for example – how people can change their diet, incorporate more exercise into their life and develop effective ways of coping with stress and pressure to prevent it affecting their physical and mental wellbeing.

In recent years our work has focused particularly on building confidence in complementary healthcare, for example through facilitating regulation of the main therapies, but the work of the Foundation is now much broader than that. This new programme we’re launching will demonstrate clearly that we are about promoting integrated health rather than, as some people think, promoting complementary therapies.

Question: So what is the Foundation’s new policy and research programme about and why have you decided to launch it now?

Kim Lavely: Let’s start with the ‘why’.  A year ago the Prince of Wales addressed the World Health Assembly in Geneva, which is an assembly of the 192 world’s health ministers. 

He talked about what he called "the silent epidemic" of chronic illness and why this is the major health challenge facing the world today.

He issued the world’s health ministers a challenge. In essence what he said was that if we recognise that individual, social and environmental issues are all contributory factors to chronic illness, then it’s clear that delivering health cannot be just the remit of health departments or ministers, but that instead there is an urgent need for a joined up approach - across not just government departments but all institutions in civil society.

He urged the health ministers to go back to their governments and develop collaborative approaches to help bring this about.

So here in the UK we at the Foundation have decided to take up the Prince’s challenge.

We’ve identified six particular long term chronic conditions - allergies, back pain, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, obesity and stress – with which the current conventional approach to health and the massively overburdened NHS are struggling to cope.

These conditions affect the lives of millions of people throughout the UK.

If we can find better ways for people to prevent and manage these illnesses it won’t just improve the lives of people living with these conditions, it will also create significant social and economic benefit because these conditions undermine people’s quality of life and in some cases their ability to work and contribute to the economy. Around 70 per cent of incapacity benefit claims result from one of these conditions.

We’re going to be looking at how everyone in society can play a part in avoiding and tackling these problems, and out of this we will develop a set of practical proposals for dealing with them.

Our proposals won’t just be aimed at healthcare professionals and health policy makers, we’ll also be targeting teachers, employers, parents, communities, and most importantly, the people who are living with these conditions.

Our vision is about creating supportive environments and removing barriers so that it is easier for people to make healthy choices.

Most people broadly know that they need to eat more healthily and take more exercise, but it’s not always that simple or easy.

We need to look at things like how urban planning can create more opportunities for walking, or at how crime prevention strategies can make people feel safer when out taking exercise.

If we look at how car-dependent our culture is for example, we can see how a joined-up approach can make a difference – if we reduce reliance on cars we can have a positive impact on the air we breathe, as well as helping to stem the rising tide of obesity.

We also believe it’s vital for health practitioners to respect and build on the knowledge people develop about their particular illness – for example its patterns and triggers, how they can best manage pain, how to gain motivation from fellow sufferers and support networks.

People can play a critical role in managing their chronic illness, but it is crucial that they have access to high-quality, reliable information and we’ll be looking at ways to help that happen.

Question: Some would say it is already an overcrowded arena. What do you think the Foundation can bring to the debate that will make a difference?

Kim Lavely: There are a lot of people working on specific health issues, many doing a very good job; often out of necessity they have to focus on a limited range of solutions.

Chronic illness is complex and there is no single simple solution to any of these conditions. It requires all those who are committed to health in this country to be working together.

The Foundation has a good track record of bringing people together from different backgrounds, with different perspectives and with different expertises to work towards a common goal, which is why we think we can add considerable value by working with all these different players.

Question: You have a wide range of stakeholders from patient charities through to government coming to the launch of the new programme – how important is government to you as a stakeholder?

Kim Lavely: We are delighted to have several government departments represented at the launch event.

The interest in our new programme comes at a time when we are beginning to see commitments across government to help people to take greater responsibility for their own health and well being, which fits with our philosophy.

For example, the Department of Health is involved with some very innovative work in addressing chronic conditions, and they would be the first to admit that they cannot solve the problem on their own and would value strong collaborations.

The department’s involvement is crucial to the success of this work but we need to work with other partners as well.

Questions: You have chosen six chronic conditions in particular and excluded one of the main conditions, heart disease.  Why was this?

Kim Lavely: One of the factors that influenced our choice of conditions to focus on was that we have talked to many GPs who say that modern medicine simply doesn’t have a solution for these illnesses.

We think all six of them lend themselves to an integrated approach both in terms of prevention and management of the condition. We think we can help people living with these conditions take back control of their own quality of life.

Why not heart disease?  Well obviously we couldn’t cover everything, but with heart disease in particular there have been great strides make in tackling the causes as well as improving diagnosis and treatment. While the problem is by no means solved, we do not feel it is an area that needs our attention.

Question: Six chronic illnesses is certainly large enough in terms of issues to tackle - how can you be sure of success when you are covering such a broad range?

Kim Lavely: I wouldn’t be foolish enough to guarantee success; after all these are complex issues which other organisations have been dedicated to tackling for many years.  What is certain is that we will only be successful if we gain the active participation and collaboration of other organisations. 

I am delighted that even in the early days of the programme we are finding huge enthusiasm for what we are trying to do, not only from the Department of Health but also from leading charities dealing in these chronic conditions, many of whom have expressed real keenness to work with us.

Other organisations such as the New Economics Foundation and some of the other charities with which The Prince is involved, like the Foundation for the Built Environment are also working closely with us.

Question: What does the future hold for the Foundation?

Kim Lavely: We have taken on a huge challenge with this chronic conditions programme and our work is really cut out for us in the foreseeable future. 

The first stage of that is about building alliances and as I’ve said, we are already meeting with real success on that front. The next stage is outreach work - for example we are planning workshops on each of the conditions, the first of which will be on back pain in July. 

These workshops will bring together experts, patients, leading charities in the field and health professionals to help us develop practical guidance on how to prevent and cope with these conditions. 

Once we have established and developed these guidelines we will be publicise them as widely as possible both on our own website and through joint communications with partner organisations.

Question: Do you have any final messages for ePolitix.com readers? 

Kim Lavely: I think I would go back to the Prince’s challenge to the World Health Assembly.  We can’t assume that profound health challenges are going to be solved solely by a government health department.

It is now the responsibility of everyone across government and in other organisations to work together to create the right environment for people to live healthy lives and make healthy choices. 

We cannot put all the onus on the individual; society has a collective responsibility – including the corporate sector – to create a culture of health and I think parliamentarians have a key role to play in bringing that about.