Hardest- hit North ‘ should be a priority’
Business and health chiefs press PM over economic impact of pandemic
BUSINESS AND health leaders are urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to prioritise parts of the North in the deepest crisis as the northern economy is hit harder than the rest of the country.
The Government has been warned that its “levelling up” ambitions are at risk, unless decisive action is taken to protect the northern economy from further damagebyprioritisingtheregion’s clinically vulnerable and most deprived communities.
A major new report from the Northern Health Science Alliance ( NHSA) today reveals the North’s economy has been hit harder than the rest of the country during the pandemic, with inequalities between our region and the rest of the country exacerbated.
New data shows an extra 57.7 more people per 100,000 died in the areas falling under the socalled Northern Powerhouse than in the rest of England between March and July. The NHSA, which brings together leading northern universities, research- intensive NHS trusts and Academic Health Science Networks, said the economic cost of this increased mortality was £ 6.86bn, while reductions in mental health in the region due to the pandemic would cost £ 5bn a year.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, the mortality rate was 477.7 per 100,000 – a figure 43.7 greater than the rest of England ( excluding the North). The highest mortality rate in the region was Hull, standing at 584.2 per 100,000.
Lead author Professor Clare Bambra, a Professor of Public Health from Newcastle University,
said the Government needed to provide immediate additional support to local authorities and devolved powers in the North.
She added long- term investment was needed in public health prevention to reduce the inequalities highlighted and to ensure that the North is better equipped for building back better. “Our report highlights that we are not all in the pandemic together, with the Northern regions being hardest hit,” she said. “Health and wealth in the Northern Powerhouse lagged behind the rest of the countryevenbeforetheCovidpandemic, and over the last year our significant regional inequalities have been exacerbated.”
It comes after The Yorkshire Post last week reported that 80 businesses leaders had signed a letter to 10 Downing Street warning that “levelling up” is at risk unless decisive action is taken.
NHSA’s chief executive, Dr Séamus O’Neill, said: “The findings of our report are shocking but, sadly, not surprising. The North has suffered health and economic inequalities for generations and the Covid- 19 pandemic has exposed these inequalities even further.”
Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the “vastly disproportionate effect” of Covid- 19 could not be ignored, adding: “It’s essential we prioritise the clinically vulnerable and deprived communities when it comes to the roll- out of the vaccine.”
A Government spokesperson last night insisted it remained “determined to level up on health outcomes as well as opportunity” with its £ 30bn Plan for Jobs helping across the UK.
“We have also committed £ 170m to help families stay warm and well fed this winter, while our Universal Credit increase has resulted in millions of people receiving more money than previously,” they said, adding that over £ 300m has already been allocated to local authorities in England to help them stop the spread of the virus in their communities.
The findings of our report are shocking but, sadly, not surprising. Dr Séamus O’Neill, chief executive of the Northern Health Science Alliance.
A NEW report from a flagship organisation to boost health in the region has urged the Government to make good on its “levellingup” commitment as it reveals the Northern economy has been hit harder than the rest of the country during the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The report says stark disparities in poor health in the North have been brought to the fore in devastating fashion following decades of austerity which has entrenched inequalities.
The Northern Health Science Alliance ( NHSA) report, Covid- 19 and the Northern Powerhouse: Tackling Health Inequalities for UK Health and Productivity, seen by The Yorkshire Post, reveals the North has been hit harder by Covid
19 than the rest of England in terms of both health and wealth outcomes.
The report, a collaboration with the National Institute for Health Research ( NIHR), warns Government that there is a real risk that the most vulnerable communities in the North, who currently face the most health inequalities, could see the gap widen further still.
Dr Séamus O’Neill, chief executive at the Northern Health Science Alliance, said: “The region, and equally Yorkshire, has some of the highest Covid mortality rates and, worryingly, we are seeing a reduction of mental wellbeing across Northern communities... It is critical that the Government acts quickly to tackle health inequalities before it gets to a point of no return.”
The report issues a raft of recommendations for the Government – with an emphasis on stopping further deteriorations in the
level of inequalities across Yorkshire and the North.
And ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review, Dr O’Neill said the NHSA had approached Government requesting £ 260m which it would use on Northern expertise in health innovation to drive forward the health and wealth of the region, supporting businesses and the population’s health for the benefit of the whole of the UK.
He said: “The North has the health assets and capabilities to
play a crucial role in improving the health and economic prosperity of the region, but we need sustained investment in health across the full health landscape to make this happen.”
Sarah Longlands, the director, for the Institute for Public Policy Research ( IPPR) North added: “This report powerfully highlights the impact of poor health on the North’s economy and presents a powerful argument for a health stimulus as part of our longer term recovery.”