A parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into Scotland’s health inequalities, with a particular focus on the impact of covid-19.

Holyrood’s current Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will explore progress made since 2015 and aims to identify more scope for preventative work to tackle social inequalities before they impact individuals’ health.

It will also make recommendations for decision-makers across the Scottish government, local government and third sector for how best to prioritise health inequalities during the covid-19 recovery.

Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “We want to know what progress, if any, has been made towards tackling these health inequalities in Scotland since 2015 and how best to tackle the structural inequalities which directly impact the health outcomes for our citizens.

“We also want to know what impact the pandemic has had on Scotland’s health inequalities and the ongoing work to tackle them.”

The last parliamentary report on the matter was published in 2015, which concluded attempts to address inequalities in health and wellbeing has been ‘met with only limited success’.

The Scottish government released a covid recovery strategy last September with an emphasis on addressing systemic inequalities worsened by covid.

Announcing the plans, the Deputy First Minister told parliament a “laser focus” on inequalities would ensure “it can’t be about going back to a way of living that, for many in Scotland, was not good enough”.

Those living in the least deprived areas are predicted to live, on average, almost 12 years longer than their more disadvantaged counterparts, figures released by National Records Scotland show.

Covid-19 and drug deaths were given as the main reasons for these trends, though academics have pointed toward a decade-long stalling of life expectancy as evidence of the fundamental drivers of health inequalities which are socioeconomic in nature.

The Medical Royal Colleges have similarly called for a broader consideration of policies to tackle health inequalities, suggesting a more progressive tax system and improvements to benefits would make a difference to the health of those living in poverty.

Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said:

“The complexities of health inequalities reach deep into almost every aspect of our society and can only be tackled effectively through a concerted effort across national government, local government, and the third sector.

“Health inequalities disadvantage people and impact their chance of living a long and healthy life, and our inquiry is determined to find out how best these inequalities can be overcome.”

Individuals and organisations with direct experience of health inequalities are invited to give evidence to help inform the health committee’s inquiry, until the 30^th of March.

 

Read more: Doctors in major call for action on poverty post-covid; "Fundamental gaps" in perinatal mental health care; MSPs to probe alternatives to relying on GPs

 

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