IHA calls on government to set out plans for health mission delivery board

The government must take action to address growing health inequalities if it is to achieve its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children in history and support people back into work, the Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) has said in an open letter to the public health and prevention minister.

The IHA, which is led by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and represents 257 members, has called for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities since 2020 – one that tackles the root causes of ill health such poor housing, employment and food quality.  

The IHA welcomed the government’s pre-election commitment to establish a mission delivery board for health and its ‘significant potential to drive’ action across all government departments.  

The open letter to public health and prevention minister Andrew Gwynne MP says government must now set out its plans for this board, and that all wider causes of ill health – such as poor housing, the commercial impacts such as  marketing of alcohol and the availability of tobacco, the ability to make healthy food choices and air quality – must be covered if the government is to achieve its ambitions to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy and reduce demand on the NHS.  

In March, polling conducted by the RCP found that 55% of consultant physicians had seen more patients with ill health over the last three months due to social and economic factors and almost a quarter (24%) said more than half or almost all of their workload is due to illnesses or conditions related to the social determinants of health.  

There is currently a nearly 20-year-gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas in England, and decisive action must be taken to prevent it widening further.  

Long-term sickness also kept more than 2.8 million people out of work between February and April this year – the highest since records began. The estimated cost of inequality to the UK economy was a staggering £106.2 billion 2022.  

In the letter to the minister, the Inequalities in Health Alliance, said:  

“Reducing the avoidable differences in health across the population must be a priority.  

“The health MDB has significant potential to drive coordinated and comprehensive action across all government departments to tackle the root causes of illness, such as poor housing, lack of educational opportunity, employment (including how much money someone has), the commercial determinants of health, racism and discrimination, food quality and ability to make healthy choices, transport and air quality. These factors all need to be a focus of the health MDB for real improvements to be made to health inequality,  healthy life expectancy and to deliver the government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children in history. 

“IHA members are keen to work with you and ministers across government to support the health MDB to develop a holistic cross-government strategy to reduce health inequality, tackle the wider determinants of health” 

“We hope that the government will shortly set out more detail on the MDB’s scope and structure.  

‘Reducing health inequalities is vital in delivering widespread economic growth, which we know is central to your government’s agenda.” 

Dr Mumtaz Patel, who is acting as RCP president and is the RCP’s vice president for education and training, said:  

“Everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe impacts our health. At a time when the NHS is under unprecedented pressure, it is crucial that we address the underlying issues impacting the nation’s health.   

“Health inequalities are not just a health issue; they are a matter of social justice and economic necessity. A comprehensive cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities can help everyone, regardless of their background, to have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.”