VODG responds to ‘Marmont Review, 10 years on’ and backs calls for new national health inequalities strategy
The Health Equity in England: Marmot Review 10 Years On report reveals that since 2010 life expectancy in England has stalled, which has not happened since at least 1900. Furthermore, the review found that the last decade has been marked by deteriorating health and widening health inequalities. The review reveals that nearly half of those in poverty in the UK in 2018 – 6.9 million people – were from families in which someone had a disability.The review, published by the Institute for Health Equity and commissioned by the Health Foundation, exposes the urgent need for the government to produce a new national health inequalities strategy that will address the social circumstances that lead to such health inequity in our society.
Commenting on the review, VODG chief executive Dr Rhidian Hughes said:
“It is not right that disabled people are locked into poverty, and alongside their housing and employment options, are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes than the wider population.
“The Learning Disability Mortality Review has already exposed the shameful disparity between the age at death of people with learning disabilities and the general population is 23 years for men and 27 years for women.“We welcome today’s publication and the call for a national health inequalities strategy, supported by national, regional, and local action to maximise health outcomes for all.”