More than a million are dead in UK because of avoidable social/economic inequalities
Hospital ward: what sends people here to die? Avoidable social and economic inequalities, apparently.
1,213,949 people’s lives were cut short between 2011 and 2020 in 90 per cent of areas in England, as a result of avoidable social and economic inequalities – according to analysis by the Institute of Health Equity.
Austerity and regressive funding cuts harmed health and worsened health inequalities well before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the decade was marked by stalling life expectancy (declining for women living in the 10 percent most deprived areas).
The IHE believes that not only is health the foremost concern of individuals, communities and businesses, but it is also an indicator of how well a nation is performing.
The UK is now well below the EU average for how long people can expect to live in good health. The UK’s rankings have gone down since 2014.
While healthcare is important in treating ill health, the causes of ill health lie in the conditions in which people are born, grow, live work and age. These conditions have deteriorated and resulted in worse health and shorter lives.
IHE Director Sir Michael Marmot says we know what to do to improve health and reduce health inequalities – now we need politicians to act.
While there has been a lack of effective policies nationally, there has been local action. The IHE is working with over 40 local authorities, health care organisations, business and voluntary sector.
And it has set up a UK-wide Health Equity Network to help organisations and localities share best practice on implementing the evidence on reducing health inequalities.
Sir Michael has published an open letter, calling on politicians to give us hope for a better future.
The letter states:
The central plank of the next government must be to prioritise everyone’s health by implementing policies we know will reduce health inequalities.
As most of our health is determined by our social circumstances, health equity and well-being must be put at the heart of all policies:
• Develop a national health inequalities strategy for action based on the following eight objectives:
1. Give every child the best start in life.
2. Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their
capabilities and have control over their lives.
3. Create fair employment and good work for all.
4. Ensure a healthy standard of living for all.
5. Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities.
6. Strengthen the role and impact of ill health prevention.
7. Tackle racism, discrimination and their outcomes.
8. Pursue environmental sustainability and health equity together.
• Appoint an independent Health Equity Commissioner.
• Establish a new cabinet-level health equity and well-being cross-departmental committee.
• Ensure every place and local government in the UK is set up and funded to prioritise equity of health and well-being
Is this a good time to remind you that we can have anything we want. The UK is the world’s fifth-richest economy, so the money is there.
What’s lacking is the will to put it into what we need.
Do you think politicians will pay any attention to this?
Source: Taking Action – IHE
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Women’s pension age rise has killed half a million 1950s ladies before retirement aged in our 50s and 60s since 2011, and the current victims are the 1960s born ladies, since 2020 only half way through losing pension money from 60 to 67 and 1970s born current victims of losing early works pension age from 50 to 55. All victims of Labour who did not repeal Tory pension age rise from 60 to 65 and Labour adding pension ages 66, 67 and 68 and raising early works pension age.
Labour proved they their ageist sexism against women by depriving women of so much help in retirement since late 1970s.
Help beat Labour out of government as well as the Tories, by volunteering as admin, please, to bring the From Babe to Over 50s party into existence. Contact through website
http://www.over50sparty.org.uk
They bleeding us dry of monies and life yet on it goes untill the peasants wake up to the fact that fighting amongst our selves is whot they want and get while they keep screwing us driving us further into chaos
I was shocked to read recently that new rules on mould will not apply to housing for asylum seekers. I can only assume that the government wishes to kill them.