Scotland is unequal. People’s health is inextricably linked to the circumstances in which they live, and inequalities in health are widening. This is because the health of the least deprived people in Scotland is improving at a faster rate than the most deprived.
Everyone knows – from the Scottish Government, to frontline health and social care services, to people going about their daily lives – Scotland has a real problem with inequalities. And statistics back this up: premature mortality from coronary heart disease is around five times more common in Scotland’s most deprived areas than in the least deprived (261.4 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 54.2 per 100,000, in 2012). The same applies to cancer: overall, it is more common in the most deprived areas of Scotland than the least deprived (531.2 cases per 100,000 population compared to 388.4 per 100,000 in 2012).
Changing statistics like this, and the complex problems that sit behind them, requires commitment from the Scottish Government as well as local partners.
Please sign the RCN petition to put pressure on them to put in place long term funding for services designed to support the most vulnerable. Click here for a link to the petition.
