On Wednesday 26 May 2021, GPs at the Deep End held its annual conference, marking 50 years since the publication Julian Tudor Hart's seminal paper on the inverse care law.

Banner for GPs at the Deep End conference 2021

"The availability of good medical care tends to vary with the need for it in the population served. This inverse care law operates more completely where medical care is most exposed to market forces, and less so where such exposure is reduced."

It is 50 years since The Lancet published Julian Tudor Hart’s seminal paper describing The Inverse Care Law. It remains as relevant now as it was in 1971, and its importance has been brought sharply into focus during the pandemic. The last year has highlighted the devastating effects of Health Inequalities globally and the impact of market forces on healthcare, communities, and individuals.

This timely conference reflected on the Inverse Care law; the origins of the GPs at the Deep End and its work; before reviewing progress in Health Inequalities and considering what still needs to be done.

187 delegates, from the UK and abroad, participated with many more registering to watch later. 

Delegate feedback – all thriller, no filler

With internationally renowned speakers, including representation from the Scottish Government, and a Q&A panel session, the event was engaging and constructive.

Speakers included

  • Prof Graham Watt (Emeritus Professor of General Practice and founder of GPs at the Deep End)
  • Prof Stewart Mercer (Professor of Primary Care and Multimorbidity at University of Edinburgh)
  • Sir Harry Burns (ex-CMO for Scotland and Professor of Global Public Health at University of Strathclyde)
  • Dr Catriona Morton (GP & Deputy Chair of RCGP Scotland)
  • Darren McGarvey (Orwell Prize winning author – Poverty Safari – and Broadcaster)
  • Dr Naureen Ahmad (Head of GP Policy division with Scottish Government and Lead for Health Inequalities)

Additional Panel members were Dr Carey Lunan and Dr Becks Fisher (GP, Senior Policy Fellow with The Health Foundation and co-founder of Next Generation GP).

The event emphasised the importance of tackling Health Inequalities and the complexity. There was a common thread throughout the event of the need for connectivity, between communities, health care, social care, and policy makers.

To quote Darren McGarvey "our lives are improved immeasurably by interacting with others. We depend on each other, and like ‘naturally occurring Wi-Fi’ we need good quality networks".

Key learning points from the conference are in the process of being formally written up and will be available soon on the Deep End website.

Dr Lynsay Crawford 
Clinical University Teacher/GP

Presentations from this conference are available to view on YouTube  

First published: 14 March 2018

<< August 2021


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