Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-23

East Herts Council is committed to the health and well being of its community and would like to empower, educate and enable its residents to take an active role in their health as well as create a supportive environment in which individuals and communities can achieve better health outcomes. This strategy follows on from our 2013-18 strategy.

Deciding on what public health means or what a good level of health and wellbeing represents involves many definitions. Perhaps pivotal is helping people stay healthy, promoting their wellbeing and protecting them from harm. These core elements are something that everyone should be able to enjoy.

Good health is about supporting the individual to live well in their environment and enabling access to services and opportunities which support a healthy lifestyle. Living a healthier lifestyle will build up health resilience and promote a life that is less affected by ill health.

Wellbeing is closely connected to our health and is associated with a sense of purpose and contentment; it often relates to our values and beliefs. A sense of wellbeing can be experienced through a mix of physical, mental, emotional or spiritual wellbeing.

How will the strategy help?

This strategy focuses on the efforts and actions of East Herts Council but, of course, our work is closely interlinked with that of many other partners. Of particular importance, during the lifetime of this strategy, the council's District Plan will help housing developers, housing associations, community groups, health providers and many others to create to new garden towns and well-planned extensions to our market towns, the aim being to ensure the design of these new neighbourhoods has a significant, positive impact on the health and wellbeing of East Herts' population.

The Strategy will be achieved with support from the following documents