Geographical inequalities in health across the UK

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Geographical inequalitiesin healthacross the UK
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Geographical InequalitiesThe Widening Gap
Daily Record Shock report reveals the poorest
places in Britain are all in Scotland

• This report was published (1999) by the Townsend
  Centre for International Poverty Research.
• The study was carried out by Bristol University
  into health inequalities.
• Contributors included doctors, geographers and
  experts on government policy.
• They studied the statistics (health rates,
  education, earnings, unemployment and life
  expectancy) in all the constituencies in the UK
  and produced a league table in terms of wealth
  and health.

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Geographical InequalitiesThe Widening Gap

• Findings
• They confirmed that evidence showed there was a
  north-south divide in health.
• That this gap was widening.
• That the six worst health areas in the UK were in
  Glasgow.
• And that the main cause was poverty.

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Geographical FindingsThe Widening Gap

• Findings
• The Report identified that geographical
  inequalities in ill health existed in the UK on
  national and regional levels.
• A north-south divide exists in terms of the
  wealth and health of the people.
• The poorest places in the UK were in Scotland.
• The worst six areas in terms of wealth and health
  were in Glasgow.
• A causal link existed between poverty and ill
  health.

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Geographical Inequalities
The Widening Gap
Page 34, UK Social Issues ISBN 0 948766 62X
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Evidence of InequalitiesRegional Scale (BBC News
2 December 1999)
Worst Health
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Evidence of InequalitiesRegional Scale (BBC News
2 December 1999)
Best Health
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Geographical InequalitiesThe Widening Gap

• Findings
• Children living in the worst households were
  twice as likely to die in infancy as their peers
  in wealthy areas in the SE of England.
• At school they were 1.5 times more likely to fail
  exams and 3.6 times more likely to fail to get a
  job when they left. Those who did get jobs earned
  25 less.

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Glasgow / Edinburgh
Edinburgh 18 of GDP
Glasgow 34 of GDP

• Their findings not only identified a north-south
  divide but also differences between cities.
• Together, Glasgow and Edinburgh produced more
  than 52 of Scotlands GDP in 1999.
• But GDP per capita for Edinburgh was 33 higher
  than that for Glasgow - in other words, average
  incomes in Edinburgh are higher.
• This reflects an era of high unemployment in
  Glasgow during the 70s and 80s and although the
  situation has much improved in Glasgow, it has
  left an accumulated legacy of poverty, social
  exclusion and ill health.
• On average, people in Edinburgh live 4 years
  longer than people in Glasgow.

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The Widening Gap (1999)Regional Difference

• The Report identified the worst 6 areas in terms
  of ill health as being in Glasgow.
• The areas included Shettleston, Springburn,
  Maryhill, Pollock, Anniesland, Baillieston and
  Govan.
• Glasgow had Scotlands
• highest infant mortality rate of 103/1000
• 34 of people live in poverty
• 18.5 of men are unemployed, 13 chronically sick
• in one year, 181 people will have died under the
  age of 65, 63 of these deaths could have been
  avoided.

Glasgow
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The Report also highlighted the huge gap in the
health of people living in the poorest areas and
wealthiest areas of Glasgow.
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Two babies born one mile apart

• One in Drumchapel and the other in Kelvinside.
  The baby born in Drumchapel will most likely be
• born underweight
• live ten years less
• twice as likely to die before its first birthday
• three times more likely to die of heart disease
  or bronchitis
• three times more likely to die of breast cancer
• twice as likely to die of lung cancer
• four times more likely to suffer from a
  psychiatric disorder
• 2.5 times more likely to die before 65.

Drumchapel
Kelvinside
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Recommendation

• The publication of The Widening Gap led to
  immediate calls for urgent action to ease the
  problems of poverty in Glasgow and this resulted
  in an increased allocation of funding to Glasgow,
  especially the most deprived areas.
• The Report concluded that the government would
  not be able to reduce inequalities across the UK
  unless it tackled poverty through the
  redistribution of income and wealth.