How ironic that precisely 25 years after the Black report
slipped reluctantly into the public domain, during the
August Parliamentary recess, after 3 months in
the grasp of the Thatcher government, similar treatment
has been accorded to a government report documenting the
failure of the most neoliberal UK government since Thatcher
to make any impression on health inequalities.
I'm referring to 'Tackling Health Inequalities: Status
Report on the Programme for Action' - which was 'published'
today and is available at
www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/76/98/04117698.pdf
Although I say 'available', the above URL is not given on
any government website. While there is a Department of
Health web page with a link to the report
(http://tinyurl.com/aah85) this link page is similarly not
given in the Department of Health's wholly inadequate press
release (below) - which fails even to give the full title of the
report, let alone describe its key message - that the
government's headline inequalities indicators worsened
between 1997 and 2003. For more on this, see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4139440.stm
How sad that after all New Labour's criticism of the
Thatcher government's response to the Black report, they are
behaving in exactly the same way. It is to be hoped that
once again, the news media will not allow themselves to
be manipulated in this way and will give full coverage to
the clear failure of the Blair government's neoliberal
policies to reduce health inequalities.
The Press Release
http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/PressReleases/PressReleasesNotices/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4117720&chk=j8T/Dk
Health trainers for disadvantaged areas
Published: Thursday 11 August 2005
Reference number: 2005/0285
Sites for first health trainers announced as report shows
progress on reducing health inequalities
Twelve areas have been named as the first sites for the new
health trainers, an initiative announced in the Choosing
Health White Paper. These areas will each receive £200,000
additional funding to provide personalised plans for
individuals to improve their health and prevent diseases
such as cancer and coronary heart disease.
The initiative is targeted first at the most disadvantaged
areas to make it easier for individuals in these communities
to make healthier choices. It will extend to the rest of
England in 2007.
A report also published today shows some progress has been
made in reducing the gap between the health of people living
in the most disadvantaged areas, compared to the rest of the
country but recognises that a significant challenge remains.
The analysis will provide valuable information for
developing the Government's long-term health inequalities
strategy set out in the Programme for Action. The strategy
is designed to tackle the deep-rooted causes of poor health
and meet the 2010 target to reduce health inequalities in
life expectancy and infant mortality.
Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said:
"Many people have difficulty in changing to a healthier way
of life. There is support for people but it may be available
at the wrong time of day or only accessible to people who
speak and read English well, and access can be unequal and
erratic. Health trainers are designed to address these problems.
"They will give support to local people in their communities
and provide information to help them develop personal health
plans and carry them out. This might include giving a
pregnant woman information about her local stop smoking
services or accompanying a woman to a breast screening
appointment. Equally, health trainers will identify barriers
to individuals making healthier choices and help find
solutions to get over them.
"This report out today shows encouraging signs that we are
moving in the right direction on some of the problems
associated with health inequalities. The publication of the
Choosing Health white paper has built on the twin pillars of
improving health and tackling health inequalities. Health
trainers are one of the many initiatives in the white paper
which will help narrow this gap by supporting people to make
healthier choices in their daily lives."
The report was overseen by the Department's scientific
reference group, made up of independent experts on health
inequalities. They reviewed a range of factors and, as
expected at this early stage, the group found no reduction
in the health gap. It did, however, find signs of progress
in key areas likely to contribute to a future narrowing of
the gap. These include:
* Child poverty - the proportion of children living in low
income households (in relative terms) has fallen by nearly a
fifth between 1998/99 and 2003/04
* Housing - the proportion of vulnerable households living
in non-decent housing has fallen by a third since 1996,
reducing the gap with the national average by 5 percentage
points
* Circulatory disease - death rates from coronary heart
disease and stroke in under 75's have fallen substantially
and the health inequalities gap has fallen by 22% over the
last six years in absolute terms
* Flu vaccinations - an increase in the uptake of
vaccinations nationwide among over 65s, with a substantial
increase in the number of disadvantaged areas exceeding the
target uptake level of 70%
Other areas to show some early signs of a narrowing of
inequalities include cancer death rates, which has shown a
marked fall in the national death rate, and educational
attainment, which is a powerful determinant of future health
status. Other issues covered in the report include smoking
prevalence, fruit and vegetable consumption, road accidents
and teenage conceptions where overall national improvements
have left the gap unchanged.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Chair of the scientific
reference group on health inequalities who oversaw the
development of the report said:
"The Government has set as a major goal the reduction of
health inequalities. It is therefore vital to monitor what
has been happening. This report is an important step in that
process
Alex Scott-Samuel
Joint Chair, Politics of Health Group
www.pohg.org.uk
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