Healthy lives

Looking Back

Over the past 10 years we invested heavily in different services, workstreams and facilities.

Fife has invested in supporting individuals and families, tackling poverty, improving wellbeing and supporting independent living. Significant investment has been made to upgrade community facilities, family support, welfare and advice services, employability programmes, digital inclusion and preventative approaches to health. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the strengths of Fife’s communities in volunteering, unpaid care, community action and assets, all of which play a vital role in health and wellbeing.

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  Beyond the classroom: supporting young people through physical activity and partnership working

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  Raising awareness of alcohol harm through a whole population approach

Looking Around

Life expectancy is stalling. And it’s lowest where disadvantage is greatest.

Demand for health and social care services is growing alongside rising costs, persistent inequalities, poor mental health and substance misuse. Long-term illness and disability are now the main reasons for economic inactivity in Fife.

More people are living with long-term conditions and complex needs, creating pressure across hospitals, primary care, community health services and social care. Fife has high rates of emergency hospital admissions, alcohol and drug-related harm, and chronic disease. Between 2021 and 2023, there were 3,505 avoidable deaths - around two-thirds were considered preventable. Opportunities to be physically active, socially connected and access healthy environments are not experienced equally across Fife.

Men in the most affluent communities live on average almost 14 years longer than those in the most deprived areas, while healthy life expectancy is falling and remains lowest where disadvantage is greatest.

Looking ahead - Our key challenges

• Social determinants of health – Health outcomes are shaped by social, economic and environmental factors beyond the health and social care system. Without progress on underlying drivers, such as poverty, employment, housing, education, and the environment, demand for health and social care services is likely to continue to rise while health inequalities remain.
• Community health and social care services – Rising levels of long-term illness, disability, poor mental health and complex need are creating growing demand across primary care, community health provision and social care. Changing demographics, workforce pressures and financial constraints make it harder to meet need within available resources. More upstream support could reduce hospital admissions and pressure on acute services.
• Population health and wellbeing – Physical activity, social connection and access to healthy environments are key to healthy lives, but opportunities remain unevenly distributed. With rising levels of inactivity, poor mental health, substance misuse, and preventable illness, future generations aren’t on track to spend more of their lives in good health.