Housing (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

It has been well recognised that decent and appropriate housing has an essential role to play in good health and well-being. Non-decent homes can have a detrimental impact on residents' health, including both physical health and mental wellbeing. Despite the continued improvements in construction standards the home remains a major cause of ill health for many. Poor housing can increase the risk of injury, cause or exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cause illness or even death from temperature extremes.

It is important that these risks are minimised and prevented, through ensuring residents are within suitable housing that meets their needs. Ensuring that households have decent homes, particularly those residents who may be more vulnerable to ill health, for example older households, is essential to creating a healthier community.

There is increasing evidence that highlights housing and supportive housing care can make a significant financial contribution to NHS and social care budgets due to prevention agenda. It is said that poor housing costs the NHS at least £600 million per year in England alone. Given this and the current economic challenges, it is important that partners work together to deliver efficiencies and bring about positive change. We recognise that in order to do this we must develop strong links between health and housing.