Set for a health revolution?
Council hopes coronavirus crisis could trigger change in Sunderland’s fortunes
City leaders hope the coronavirus crisis could pave the way to a health revolution in Sunderland, as figures showed it is one of the worst affected parts of the country.
A new report has highlighted the risk of both catching and dying from COVID increases significantly for families living in the most deprived areas.
But as lockdown measures are eased, bosses at Sunderland City Council say they have seen signs of a possible fightback to try and decrease the dangers of a second spike.
“I would hope that because this has highlighted the health inequalities we will have a chance to improve health in a more targeted way, things like obesity, alcohol and smoking,” said Coun Geoff Walker, council cabinet member for health and social care.
“There has been a significant reduction in smoking across the North East and people are beginning to realise some of these things do increase your chances of surviving things like this.
“This may not be the last virus attack we get, so we need to have things in place to deal with inequalities more effectively and this could give us the chance to do that.”
A Public Health England report published on June 2 on the ‘disparities in risk’ for different groups and parts of the country painted a damning picture for Sunderland.
According to the figures, after adjustments for age, Wearside’s rate of COVIDrelated deaths per 100,000 stands at 766.9.
This is the second highest in the North East, after Middlesbrough, and more than 50% higher than the England average.
Coun Walker said a proposed new ‘health and inequalities strategy’ would be put to council bosses later in June aimed at addressing existing health problems in the city.
But as well as trying to make families healthier to fight off coronavirus, city leaders must also work on plans for the government’s so-called ‘whack-a-mole’ proposals for local lockdowns to stamp out any signs of a second spike in COVID-19 infections.
Coun Walker added: “There’s a lot of talk about recovery and looking at economic and social changes.
“But I think we need to have a lot more clarity than central government [has given us so far] in terms of what we need to do.”