Understanding the health and wellbeing needs of our population
The Surrey and Sussex Integrated Needs Assessment (INA) brings together the latest evidence about the health, wellbeing and care needs of more than three million people living across Surrey and Sussex.
It provides a shared picture of our population, helping the NHS, local authorities, voluntary organisations and other partners understand the challenges facing our communities and identify where we can work together to improve health and reduce inequalities.
The INA forms the evidence base for the NHS Surrey and Sussex Five Year Strategic Commissioning Plan and helps guide decisions about health and care services, prevention programmes and system transformation.
Why this matters
Health is shaped by much more than healthcare alone.
Factors such as income, housing, education, employment, transport, access to green spaces, community connections and discrimination all influence how healthy people are and how long they live. The INA helps us understand these wider influences and how they affect different communities across Surrey and Sussex.
The assessment adopts a life-course approach, looking at health and wellbeing from childhood through to older age, and recognises that inequalities can build up over a lifetime.
What the assessment tells us
Our population is growing and ageing
Surrey and Sussex is home to just over 3 million people. While population growth is expected to continue, the biggest change over the coming years will be the increase in the number of older people. The population aged 65 and over is projected to grow by more than 10% by 2031, while the number of children is expected to fall.
This means more people are likely to be living with frailty, dementia and multiple long-term health conditions, increasing demand for health and care services.
People are living longer, but not always in good health
Life expectancy across Surrey and Sussex remains relatively high, but many people are spending more years living with poor health. Healthy life expectancy, which measures the number of years people can expect to live in good health, has declined in many areas.
Significant differences remain between communities. In some neighbourhoods, people can expect to live more than a decade longer than those living in the most deprived areas.
Health inequalities remain a major challenge
The strongest predictor of poor health outcomes is deprivation. Although Surrey and Sussex contains many affluent communities, there are also areas experiencing significant disadvantage, particularly in some coastal communities and urban neighbourhoods.
The assessment highlights how poverty, housing affordability, unemployment, social isolation and other social factors contribute to poorer health outcomes.
The building blocks of health matter
The INA finds that health is closely linked to:
- Having a safe, secure and affordable home
- Access to good-quality jobs and employment opportunities
- Availability of healthy food
- Access to green spaces and the natural environment
- Good transport and opportunities for active travel
- Strong social connections and community support
- Digital access and inclusion
- Improving these wider determinants of health is essential if we are to reduce inequalities and help people live healthier, more independent lives.