A prospective mini health impact assessment of the ‘Towards 2010’ programme in Sandwell and West Birmingham in the West Midlands

Abstract

To conduct a health impact assessment (HIA) of the four 'Towards 2010' programme options under consideration. This is an innovative and visionary programme involving a 750 million pound capital investment to deliver modern and flexible healthcare services across Sandwell and West Birmingham in the West Midlands, UK. The HIA aimed to inform the Board which of the four options would be most beneficial for the local population. A prospective mini HIA. The study involved a desktop exercise using a combination of the Merseyside and West Midlands Directors of Public Health guidelines for conducting HIAs. Ten broad determinants of health including employment and economy, education, transport, housing, visual amenity (environment), access to services, crime, lifestyle, pollution, and family and social cohesion were selected. For each determinant potential positive and negative impacts were identified using readily available local information and professional knowledge. Overall over 600 positive and negative impacts were predicted across the four options. These were summarized into 90 positive and 84 negative impacts for each of the ten broad determinants of health. The findings suggest that two out of the four options seem to offer maximum opportunity for improving the health and wellbeing of the local population and for linking into the wider regeneration initiatives within the programme area. Besides the obvious benefits that one would expect from brand new modern healthcare facilities, a wide range of other impacts were identified. This raised a level of awareness amongst the decision makers of the range of impacts that would need to be maximized or minimized to improve the health and wellbeing of the local population.