Welcome to my blog, which I will be using to tell everyone about the organisations I am involved in and what they do. I will also be using the page to express my personal views on matters that are important to me, organisations I am involved in, my family and the community in which I live. I will also use it to campaign on matters which I believe need support or a higher profile.
In my business, voluntary, personal and home life I come into plenty of health related issues which I want to share with those who are interested. An example of an issue I feel passionate about is that I am a great believer in investing heavily in health prevention. I believe we need to have an appropriately funded strategy to tackle topics such as obesity, diabetes, smoking, asthma, COPD, melanoma etc. If we were to have a long-term strategy it would reduce the need for hospital beds, long-term care and more importantly people becoming very unwell and dying.
However, the problem is it’s a long-term investment and strategy that is needed and may take 15 years (or more) to show a benefit. Of course we all know that politicians want quick wins in 12 to 24 months as this is what wins votes and keeps them in power, so investment in strategies that take 15 years or more to show a benefit just do not happen, or governments start along the pathway and then a change of demands or governments and the priorities change.
So this is just one example of a topic I may develop. If you would like to hear more, keep an eye on this page or follow me on Facebook or twitter to keep in touch. If there are any topics you would like me to write about or hear my views on, please do let me know via the contacts page on my website at www.hepburn.uk.net
Gary Hepburn is a business owner, consultant and company director. He has held senior positions in public, private and multi-national companies, a company group pension fund the NHS and Police Authority. Gary is involved in many voluntary and charitable organisations including Coram Life Education, Life Education Wessex and Thames Valley, The Scout Association, Weymouth Town Charities, Weymouth Carnival as well as being a governor at a school federation and churchwarden at his local church. Gary’s interests are mental health, pre hospital emergency care, resuscitation, medical training, health & safety, fire safety, and health prevention and health and well-being education.