The Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) is a coalition of more than 250 organisations, convened by the RCP, which campaigns for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities. This blog post by Dr Mumtaz Patel, who is acting as president of the RCP, is part of a series by IHA member organisations.
I have seen firsthand the devastating impact that health inequalities have on individuals and communities across the UK. I work as a Consultant Nephrologist in Manchester and look after patients from some of the most socially deprived communities. The stark reality is that there remains a nearly 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas of England. This gap is not just a statistic; it represents millions of lives cut short, aspirations unrealised, and a persistent cycle of ill health that continues to blight our society.
The Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA), convened by the RCP, has been advocating for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities and tackle these deep-rooted disparities since 2020. It now comprises 257 organisations, all united by a shared commitment to addressing the wider determinants of health - such as housing, education, employment (including how much money someone has), and air quality that have a profound influence on our health and wellbeing.
We were therefore pleased by the recent commitments from the new government on health inequalities, which included the ambition to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy in England alongside the establishment of a new health mission delivery board (MDB) ‘to bring together all government departments with an influence over these social determinants’. The creation of the health MDB holds significant promise to be a crucial step toward the coordinated action across government departments that we have long called for. It represents a recognition that health cannot be siloed within the confines of the Department of Health and Social Care but must be a priority across the entire spectrum of government policy.
On 2 September 2024, the IHA wrote to Andrew Gwynne MP, the new Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, to welcome the government's commitments on reducing health inequalities. We expressed our strong support for the MDB and highlighted its potential to drive meaningful change. The IHA's letter emphasized the importance of the MDB focusing on the root causes of illness - such as poor housing, lack of educational opportunity, air quality and the commercial determinants of health (such as the marketing of alcohol and food and the availability of tobacco) - if we are to see real improvements in health outcomes and life expectancy.
The IHA is eager to support the government in developing and implementing a holistic, cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities. We believe that the MDB can help to drive the systemic change needed to tackle the wider determinants of health.
This coordinated approach across all departments is not only essential for improving public health but also for delivering the broader economic growth that is central to the government’s agenda. The economic impact of health inequality is staggering, with long-term sickness keeping over 2.8 million people out of work between February and April 2024 - the highest figure since records began in 1993. The estimated cost of inequality to the UK economy was £106.2 billion in 2022. It is clear that addressing health inequalities is not just a moral imperative but an economic one as well.
That’s why we are urging the government to swiftly set out the scope and structure of the health MDB, and to ensure that it has the authority and resources necessary to effect real change. The prime minister’s commitment to regularly chair the government’s MDBs is a positive signal, and we look forward to engaging with him and ministers across government to ensure that health inequality is tackled with the urgency and seriousness required.
Together, we can make significant strides toward reducing the unacceptable disparities in health that persist in our society. The IHA and the RCP stand ready to play our part in this vital mission to create a healthier, more equitable future for all.
This piece is part of a series of guest blog posts by members of the Inequalities in Health Alliance.
Dr Mumtaz Patel
Acting as RCP president (senior censor and vice president for education and training)
