Act now to reduce health inequalities

There are substantial and growing health inequalities within England. These show that premature death rates are 20% higher for people living in the north than in the south and that a baby girl born in Wokingham can expect nearly 17 more years of healthy life than a baby girl born in Manchester.

Health inequality is not only morally wrong but economically irresponsible. The Northern Health Science Alliance’s recent Health for Wealth report demonstrates that these north/south health inequalities cost the UK £13.2bn a year in lost productivity.

The government has future opportunities to halt the widening gap between rich and poor in the country, and we call upon it to take action now to redress the balance. It must act by taking into account health inequalities in England when allocating £20bn extra for the NHS through its 10-year plan and by using next year’s spending review to reverse cuts to public health grants.

Professor David Burn Pro-vice-chancellor, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
Dame Jackie Daniel Chief executive officer, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Hakim Yadi OBE Chief executive officer, Northern Health Science Alliance
Dame Pamela Shaw Vice-president and pro-vice chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, University of Sheffield
Professor Clare Bambra Professor of public health, Newcastle University
Dr Liz Mear Chief executive officer, Innovation Agency
Professor Paul M Stewart MD Executive dean and professor of medicine, University of Leeds
Professor Steve Myint Northern Health Science Alliance board member, physician, businessman and investor
Professor Karen Bloor Professor of health economics and policy, University of York
Professor Ben Bridgewater Chief Executive, Health Innovation Manchester
Dr Sèamus O’Neill CEO, North East and North Cumbria AHSN
Professor Louise Kenny Executive pro-vice-chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Liverpool
Professor Amanda Ellison Director of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing; Durham University
Dr Ben Barr Senior clinical lecturer in applied public health research, University of Liverpool
Alan Payne Chief information officer for Aetna International
Dr Luke Munford Research fellow, Division of Population Health, University of Manchester
Dr Paula Holland Lecturer in public health, Lancaster University
Professor Nigel Rice Professor of health economics, University of York
Professor Debora Price Professor of social gerontology and director of Micra, University of Manchester
Dr Andy Knox Director of population health, Morecambe Bay
Professor Thomas Scharf Professor of social gerontology, Newcastle University
Kenneth Barnsley Public health specialist (Age Well), Pennine Lancashire Digital Public Health and Innovation
Dr Sarah Longlands Director, IPPR North
Professor Mark Boyle Director, Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place, University of Liverpool
Paula Wheeler Public health theme manager, CLAHRC North West Coast
Henri Murison Director, Northern Powerhouse Partnership
Professor John Goodacre Associate dean in health and medicine, Lancaster University
Dr Rupert Suckling Director of public health, Doncaster Council
Dr Victoria Armstrong Chief executive, Disability North
Professor Simon Dixon Professor of health economics, University of Sheffield

• After trying to get a flu jab at my pharmacist as I did last year and being told they had no vaccine, I reluctantly, after one cancellation, had mine done at my doctor’s (Letters, 11 December). This was after I had earlier received a rather unpleasant letter from the practice asking me why I had my flu jab done at the pharmacist’s last year as they had ordered vaccine for me. This flies directly in the face of the information shown on the Trevor McDonald NHS advert which suggests you can choose either.
Chris Jones
Bewdley, Worcestershire

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