Crisis has shone light on ‘health inequalities’
CORONAVIRUS has ‘emphasised’ existing health inequalities across the country, a public health expert said.
Professor John Newton responded to a Public Health England report published on Tuesday which stated that people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are ‘disproportionately’ dying with coronavirus.
The report found that age and gender are biggest factors, with older men being the most at risk. But if that criteria was set aside, BAME people are at the highest risk – with people of Bangladeshi ethnicity having twice the risk of dying than people who are white British.
Risk of dying among those diagnosed with Covid-19 is also higher in those living in the most deprived areas and is ‘more than double the least deprived areas.’
In response to a question about this report at the daily Downing Street press conference, Professor John Newton said the virus has emphasised the existing health inequalities in the country.
The national co-ordinator of the UK Coronavirus Testing Programme said: “There’s a lot more than just the ethnic differences in the report, there are differences to do with levels of deprivation and where people live and occupation and so on. And all these causes are the causes of health inequalities, anyway.
“What Covid-19 has done is to emphasise the existing health inequalities in the country.
“It shows us again that we need to address those inequalities, whether they’re to do with deprivation or to do with people’s background. So in fact, to some extent, the recommendations that have been made before about similar issues still apply.”
Prof Newton praised experts for producing the report in a ‘relatively short time,’ as he said it would usually take around six months. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the report identified age as the biggest risk factor, followed by gender. He also said living in a city ‘is a risk,’ while being from a BAME background is ‘also a significant risk factor.’
Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch will be taking that work forward, he added.
Mr Hancock also praised the role played by BAME medical and care workers in the fight against coronavirus.
He referred to the Black Lives Matter movement, which has come into more significant prominence in recent days following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
He said: “This is a particularly timely publication, because right across the world, people are angry about racial injustice. And I get that. Black lives matter.
“And I want to say this to everyone who works in the NHS and in social care: I value the contribution that you make, everybody equally.”