NHS Scotland press release and launch

Evidence of the health gap between rich and poor is to be found right across the UK. The quality and duration of life expectancy for poor people and residents in disadvantaged communities are blighted by inequalities that manifest themselves in many forms. Nowhere is this more the case than in Scotland. Fortunately the problem is clearly recognised, and action is being taken to address health inequalities. But one important issue has been neglected, how will citizens know if progress is being made?

A new report from two authoritative research centres based in Glasgow reviews the latest evidence about health inequalities and the policies being put in place to reduce them. There is much to applaud. For example, the Scottish Executive is making good progress in monitoring changes in some of the key determinants of health such as income, education and employment. But there is more work to be done. Insufficient effort is being put into developing indicators of differences in health outcomes between social groups and geographical areas.

The report asks whether it is time that Scotland followed the lead set by countries such as Sweden and England where clear targets for reducing health inequalities have been published. As things stand, commitments to reduce the health divide that cannot be independently assessed are worth little. If reducing differences in avoidable mortality and disease between rich and poor is really a top priority then transparent criteria for judging progress over time need to be put in place.

Contributors to the report will debate these issues with key stakeholders from Scottish Public Services at the launch event on Thursday April 25, 2002 at 10.30 am. Media representatives are welcome to attend either the launch event and/or the press briefing session held after the launch at 2pm. The venue for both events is detailed overleaf.

Health Inequalities in the New Scotland is published jointly by the Health Promotion Policy Unit, Department of Public Health at the University of Glasgow and the Public Health Institute for Scotland, and it has invited papers from other academic contributors.

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Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

• PRESS BRIEFING TO BE HELD at 2 pm Thursday 25 April 2002, Charlotte Room, The Dome, 14 George Street, Edinburgh.
• The Health Promotion Policy Unit (HPPU) was established in July 2000. It undertakes analysis, development and research that stimulates policy debate and strengthens the design and implementation of evidence-based policies that improve population health and reduce health inequalities. The HPPU is the result of a partnership between the University of Glasgow and the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS); core funding is provided by HEBS.
• The Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS) is an NHS organisation, created to serve the whole of the public health community in Scotland, within the NHS and beyond. It was established in January 2001, following the Review of the Public Health Function in Scotland:
• "to protect and improve the health of the people of Scotland by working with relevant agencies and organisations to increase our understanding of the determinants of health and ill health, help formulate public health policy, and increase the effectiveness of the public health endeavour"

For further information contact:

Professor Ken Judge, HPPU
Tel: 0141 330 3559
Mobile: 0794 184 6981

Professor Phil Hanlon, PHIS
Tel: 0141 300 1011
Mobile: 07748 624911

First published: 25 April 2002