June Angus, West London Socialist Party
Health inequalities – avoidable differences in healthcare and health outcomes between different demographics of people – continue to deepen after 13 years of failed Tory health policies.
Stark disparities even exist between London boroughs. The average man living in Richmond will not develop his first major health problem, such as cancer or other serious illness, until age 70. In Barking and Dagenham, a much less affluent area, that age is 58.
One third of people in deprived areas suffer from long-term ill health, compared with 19% in more affluent communities. And the University of York found a shorter life expectancy for people living in the north of England, and more limitations on finding and maintaining employment for those with health problems. Black women are also four times more likely to be at risk from maternal death in the six weeks after giving birth.
Rampant profiteering
These health inequalities come as an inevitable result of wealth inequality, exacerbated by over a decade of Conservative austerity. The Covid pandemic served to highlight Tory incompetency, with privatised PPE and test-and-trace system, and rampant profiteering only worsening the crisis.
But these failures are wider than just the pandemic. Tory health policies have failed to dent obesity and addiction rates.
In fact, data now show that addiction rates have jumped, exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. Brutal NHS budget cuts mean there is little support available.
When public health and welfare is pitted against profit in a capitalist economy, profit will always win. But what would a Starmer-led Labour government do? Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, frequently promotes the disastrous ideas of NHS privatisation.
What’s the real solution? A health service, democratically controlled by its workers, unions and patients to enact effective, evidence-based health policies that serve public interest and not profitmaking. An end to capitalism – the system that causes and exacerbates many health problems with poor working conditions, and poor access to affordable, nutritious food. And a socialist alternative to improve our quality of life.
Obesity – 30 years of Tory and Labour failure
John Malcolm, Teesside Socialist Party
Since 1992, there have been 14 strategies to tackle obesity by Tory and Labour governments. All have failed.
26% of adults and 34% of secondary school children are now classed as overweight or obese. And there is a stark contrast in the most deprived areas compared to the most affluent.
Between April 2019 and March 2020, there were over a million hospital admissions linked to obesity. But Public Health England research revealed that a high proportion of individuals seek a solution to managing their weight. So why does obesity remain so high?
Spending cuts
Capitalist politicians have failed to address the underlying causes of obesity, and put the emphasis on personal responsibility rather than prevention. Public health spending has been drastically cut. Since 2015, public health grants given to local councils are 26% lower.
Under austerity, poverty has increased. Those in deprived areas suffer from a lack of decent housing, low wages, poor diets, and reduced access to sports facilities, worsened by council cuts. In some areas, life expectancy has fallen, and discrepancies in health and wellbeing have grown compared to more affluent areas.
Many families have little choice regarding what food they buy and eat. Those on low wages or benefits do not have access to shops selling fresh food. You pay more if you can’t access supermarkets, and instead rely on local shops.
Public transport has also been cut, and families on benefits are less likely to own a car. Fast food outlets are likely to be close by, and the food industry heavily promotes this through advertising.
Inflation on food items has reached more than 19%. The major food producers and distributors should be nationalised, and democratically run, as part of an overall plan of production, to enable people to eat healthily at affordable prices.
But recent news has focused on quick-fix solutions to obesity, such as a slimming jab. Novo Nordisk, the firm which produces the jab, spent millions on a PR campaign, before it was approved by UK health regulator Nice.
Privatisation
Novo Nordisk is now paying the salaries of staff on NHS obesity teams, and redesigning NHS obesity services. The firm has financial links to the co-chair of an NHS weight management advisory group, and paid her almost £50,000 in lecture, consulting and other fees in just two years.
Obesity is a complex problem, and solving obesity means tackling the underlying causes, such as poverty and inequality. The capitalist governments give in to the food industry lobby and the pharmaceutical giants, seeking to profit from obesity and other health problems. That’s why we need a socialist alternative.
