Bournemouth, Health & Lifestyle | Posted on February 19th, 2026 | return to news

New health strategy for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Residents are being invited to put forward their views on BCP Council’s new Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

People across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area have until 23 March to share their thoughts on a new Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

BCP Council is asking residents for their views on how the council should work with key partners to improve the health and wellbeing of local residents and reduce inequalities in health across the BCP area.

The draft strategy sets out proposed priorities and actions and will be in place until 2031. The key priorities included in the draft strategy are:

Starting Well – ensuring children and young people have the best start in life and get supported to reach their potential
Mental Wellbeing – helping people stay mentally well and improving access to local support services
Living and Ageing Well – helping adults and older people to live and age well and to stay independent for as long as possible
Healthy Neighbourhoods and Communities – creating better health opportunities in our local neighbourhoods and communities
Examples of some of the work set out in these priorities include:
Reduce risky behaviours in children and young people, including the use of tobacco, vaping, drugs and alcohol
Improve access and uptake of community mental health support services
Reduce inequalities in the uptake of NHS immunisation and screening programmes
Reduce poverty and the impact of the cost of living on our most vulnerable communities
Reduce social isolation and loneliness by creating more connected communities

Cllr David Brown, BCP Council Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, said:

“This is an opportunity to help shape how we make real changes to health and wellbeing going forward. We want to know if the priorities we have set out in our draft strategy are also the priorities of people living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

“People may not realise that looking after the health and wellbeing of our residents is something the council provides. But we want our neighbourhoods and communities to thrive and for the people [who live in them] to live long and healthy lives.

“The views of our residents will feed into our final version of the strategy, which will be discussed and approved at BCP Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board later this year.”

The draft strategy and consultation questions can be found by visiting https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/healthandwellbeingstrategy.
Paper copies of the consultation are also available in BCP Council-run libraries.