NHS backs poverty week
NHS Lanarkshire used Challenge Poverty Week to highlight the services and resources available to help those impacted by poverty.
The Scotland-wide campaign, which took place last week, was designed to show that “poverty exists in Scotland and affects us all”.
A number of activities and initiatives took place across Lanarkshire with sessions focusing on some of the key poverty challenges being faced in the region.
North and South Lanarkshire have produced local child poverty action reports that outline work done by the council, health board and wider partnership to tackle child poverty.
These plans outline some of the key poverty challenges and focus on priorities such as increasing income from employment, reducing the cost of living and increasing income from social security and benefits in kind.
Gabe Docherty, director of public health at NHS Lanarkshire, said: “Poverty can have a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing outcomes for many children and families.
“Poverty stops people participating in society and restricts people’s lives in a range of different ways – and it is women, children, minority groups and disabled people who are often affected the most.
“Health professionals, in all settings, have a key role to play in recognising the impact of poverty and ensuring that they provide the right health and wellbeing support alongside referral pathways to welfare advice services.
“NHS staff might be the first or only point of contact with services that a patient experiencing poverty has.
“Health professionals have the potential to act early on in a child’s life; they are likely to see families at their most vulnerable, when they may learn best how to support their needs.
“They are in a position to understand that children not being brought to appointments/parents not attending may be a consequence of poverty, and can respond compassionately.
“This is the kind of interaction that can help aid healing as part of an intervention.”
Mr Docherty added: “Local NHS actions, such as strengthening financial inclusion referral pathways between health and money and welfare advice services, can help reduce the impact of poverty on our children and vulnerable groups.
“NHS boards can make a difference too as an employer and procurer of goods and services.
“NHS Lanarkshire is a living wage accredited employer and committed to pay the real living wage, securing the living wage for external contracts and protecting employees from adverse working conditions through responsible policies.”