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NHS England aims to reduce health inequalities

NHS England aims to reduce health inequalities
3 July 2013



By profiling best practice, NHS England hopes to reduce life expectancy gaps in the UK.
Despite life expectancy being at a ‘record high’, there are significant gaps between the richest and poorest areas.
Men who live in the poorest areas in the country live for 11 years less than those in the richest areas on the country, and for women the gap is 10 years, research shows.
The commitment comes just before the 65th anniversary of the National Health Service (5 July 2013).

By profiling best practice, NHS England hopes to reduce life expectancy gaps in the UK.
Despite life expectancy being at a ‘record high’, there are significant gaps between the richest and poorest areas.
Men who live in the poorest areas in the country live for 11 years less than those in the richest areas on the country, and for women the gap is 10 years, research shows.
The commitment comes just before the 65th anniversary of the National Health Service (5 July 2013).
Professor Steve Field, Deputy Medical Director with responsibility for addressing health inequalities at NHS England said: “We need to use the 65th anniversary of the NHS to stay connected to our simple but powerful founding principle that everyone counts and the NHS belongs to us all.
“We need to do more in health and care to fundamentally tackle the unacceptable health inequalities that remain in England today, staying true to the principles and values of the NHS and its Constitution.”
The NHS will now be profiling people, services and organisations that are transforming and shaping future health and care with a particular focus on those innovative services that are tackling health inequalities in communities across England.
NHS clinicians and leaders will meet some of the people involved in delivering and designing services to find out how they tackle issues such  as substance misuse and homelessness and improving the lives of people with long term conditions, mental health illnesses, physical disabilities and other health conditions.

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