JiscMail Logo
Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

Help for HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK Archives


HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK Archives

HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK Archives


HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK Home

HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK Home

HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK  September 2005

HEALTH-EQUITY-NETWORK September 2005

Options

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password

Subject:

UK health inequalities - Guardian report

From:

Alex Scott-Samuel <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Alex Scott-Samuel <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Fri, 9 Sep 2005 06:41:05 +0100

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (126 lines)

What's the prognosis?

Twenty-five years ago the Black Report revealed huge health 
inequalities in the UK and was 'buried' by the then 
Conservative government. Last month, Labour quietly slipped 
out its own report, showing the problem is getting worse. 
Mary O'Hara finds the public health community increasingly 
frustrated

Wednesday September 7, 2005
The Guardian

Dr Mary Shaw Scientific director, South West Public Health 
Observatory

The release of the report on health inequalities, Tackling 
Health Inequalities - Status Report on the Programme for 
Action on August 11 was reminiscent of the deliberately 
covert release of the Black Report on August bank holiday 
Monday in 1980. This latest report appeared at a time when 
the official responsible, Caroline Flint, minister for 
public health, was on holiday and her deputy was 
unavailable. Even stranger, the press release referring to 
the report deflected attention from the key finding of 
widening inequalities in life expectancy and infant 
mortality by headlining the 12 "early adopter sites" which 
will be the first areas to have "health trainers". The 
circumstances of the report's release, however, should not 
be allowed to detract from its main message, that health 
inequalities have widened. The fear that the hushed-up 
release of this report raises is that the bold statements 
and unprecedented promises of Labour's first years in power 
have now been overtaken by the individualistic rhetoric of 
behavioural prevention and "choosing health". Nowhere in the 
report is there mention of measuring, let alone directly 
tackling, the static or widening inequalities in income and 
wealth that New Labour has presided over.

Danny Dorling Professor of human geography, University of 
Sheffield

This is a new low for New Labour. It took eight years to get 
around to it and this is what happens. It is sad to think 
that Margaret Thatcher signed up to targets in 1985 to 
reduce health inequality by 25% by the year 2000, yet look 
where we are. The areas with the highest life expectancy 10 
years ago are the places that have seen the biggest increase 
in life expectancy since. Wealth lets you get health. The 
areas that have benefited most are those that voted 
Conservative in 1997. It is fair to say though, that New 
Labour has done a lot. We are not about to become like 
America. Look at the preface [to the government's report on 
inequality last month], it is amazing how brazenly they 
ignored the key issues. It is odd that they tried to release 
it quietly when they did - during recess and on the 
anniversary of the Black Report. I think this will become 
New Labour's Black Report.

David Hunter Chair of the UK Public Health Association

This government came in with a commitment to reduce health 
inequalities. Since 1997, it has become obsessed with the 
NHS, with disease and cures, and not with health. The 
government thinks there is no political mileage in tackling 
health inequalities. It affects the disadvantaged, the 
dispossessed and the marginalised, and they don't tend to 
vote. Rather than moving toward the European model - where 
they are trying to protect people in the long term - we are 
moving more toward the US model.

Professor John Ashton NHS North West region director of 
public health

Since 1997, some progress has been made. The question is 
whether policies are joined up enough. In 1948 there was a 
universalist approach [to public health]. Since 1979, we 
have had targets and selective intervention. It has made it 
much harder to determine if the people who need the help 
most are really getting it. There are targets for improving 
health inequalities by 2010 but you have to ask if it is 
possible to meet this if the next two years are spent 
distracted by yet another reorganisation of the NHS. The 
issue is not to say this government has failed. We have to 
create a system that is robust enough for the challenges we 
now face: social justice and sustainability. The big 
inequality opening up is not just length of life, it is 
quality of life. A lot of working class people are living 
into their 70s but often with multiple conditions, compared 
with middle-class people who often get to their 80s before 
problems emerge. Turning the current situation around will 
be difficult. The challenge is to work out how we get back a 
vision of a good society.

Alex Scott-Samuel Senior lecturer in public health, 
Liverpool University and joint chair of the Politics of 
Health Group

There has been a lot of rhetoric [on health inequalities], 
especially since Labour first came in, but we now see that 
these are not working. Material factors still underlie 
inequality and these are not going to change as long as we 
are following the policies of the World Bank. Income 
inequalities are still at the same level as in the 1980s. 
That is the greatest indictment of the government. I would 
like an acknowledgment that some of the reasons for widening 
inequalities are down to Labour's economic and public 
policies. And I would like to see an independent commission 
with the aim of looking at how all areas of policy impact on 
health inequality.

Geoff Rayner Academic and former chair of the UK Public 
Health Association

What's so different about now, compared to when the Black 
Report came out, is that we live in a consumer society. 
There is no language of paternalism any more. The government 
has adopted the language of the market to sell public health 
policy as well as buying into a philosophy of the market. 
The state - as opposed to governments - needs to protect 
people, and we need a state structure for intervention that 
is agreed upon, one that doesn't change with a government or 
a new health minister.

· Tackling Health Inequalities: Status Report on the 
Programme for Action is at http://heh.pl/&1Vr

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

JiscMail Tools


RSS Feeds and Sharing


Advanced Options


Archives

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000


JiscMail is a Jisc service.

View our service policies at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ and Jisc's privacy policy at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/website/privacy-notice

For help and support help@jisc.ac.uk

Secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager