A guaranteed minimum income for everyone in Scotland has been backed by the collective body for Scotland’s medical professions as part of a series of measures to tackle inequalities.

In a manifesto ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2021 the Scottish Academy says social factors like poverty are as important to health as the NHS is.

It argues improvements to benefits and a more progressive tax system are needed to mitigate the “devastating” impact of covid-19 on the poorest households in Scotland.

The Scottish Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties brings together and speaks for all the medical professional bodies and Royal Colleges.

Dr Carey Lunan, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, said: “The covid-19 pandemic has simply shone a spotlight on pre-existing health and social inequalities in Scotland. 

“It has raised awareness of the plight of many of our most vulnerable citizens, but has also worsened many of the inequalities that they face on a daily basis.”

Professor Mike Griffin, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, added there had to be “bold and active” policy across transport, education and living standards as well as investment in the health service.

These disparities are highlighted by research showing Scots living in the most deprived areas were twice as likely to die from covid-19 as those from the most well-off.

Benefit cuts have been found to be responsible for ‘around a third’ of the gap in life expectancy in Scotland which has opened up over the past decade.

Elsewhere a report by Professor Sir Michael Marmot said deprivation and poverty in England had contributed to the country’s ‘high and unequal’ covid-19 death toll.

Among the proposals in the Scottish Academy’s manifesto is a call for all decisions in all policy areas by the Scottish government to be subject to a mandatory health impact assessment.

Chair Dr Miles Mack said: “In the lead up to the election next May, we are asking political parties to adopt our manifesto call for a commitment to end all forms of health inequality.

“We are also calling for better health by prevention, investment to build on new ways of working and better collaboration across all sectors in Scottish society.

“Alongside action on the social determinants of ill health, the Scottish Academy is looking for NHS leaders to identify solutions to address the risk of health exclusion, including digital exclusion, for vulnerable patients such as the elderly, particularly those living in remote and rural areas.

“The NHS must also focus on health education and prevention for all ages, ensure that equality impact assessments are undertaken in any intended service redesign, and resource health services according to the need of the population served.”

Recommendations to safeguard the long-term health of the NHS range from investing in digital infrastructure to boosting the number of medical school places now to ensure a supply of trained doctors in future.

There is also a call to boost diversity in the medical workforce by encouraging applications from under-represented groups.

The focus on workforce issues was welcomed by Professor Angela Thomas, acting president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh:

“This has been an incredibly challenging year for all of us, including our hard-working but exhausted healthcare staff, who have had their time to train, time to teach and time to research significantly reduced due to the pandemic.

“We need to ensure that we have a workforce who feel supported and are ready to continue taking on covid-19 or similar challenges in future.

“It is vital, therefore, that priority is given to helping our healthcare staff make up for lost training and research time.”