One of NHS Grampian’s most senior officials has warned that health improvements across the north-east and the rest of the UK have been stalling for a decade.
The bleak picture is laid out in director of public health Susan Webb’s annual report, which warns the Covid pandemic merely exposed a need for change which had already been building for years.
Meanwhile, an upward trend of life expectancy between 2000 and 2019 has reversed in recent years with cancer, heart disease, alcohol-related deaths and suicides highlighted as the main causes.
The higher cost-of-living, an increase in demand for services, more risk from infectious diseases and climate change have all been pinpointed as the main threats in the coming years.
What are the biggest problems?
Susan Webb’s annual report warns the coming years will be “critical” in helping communities adapt to the impact of the last decade.
Figures published in the NHS Grampian report say progress was being made between 2000 and 2012 in preventing deaths from cancer, heart disease, alcohol and suicides.
However, since then, Mrs Webb says in the report there has been “ stagnation and in some cases worsening” of inequalities – but stressed the north-east is not unique in experiencing these.
She highlights drug-related issues and suicides among men from 15 to 44 years old are the leading cause of death with both rising in the last 10 years.
The public health expert says heart disease, asthma, cancer, mental health problems and alcohol and drug-related issues are symptoms of growing inequalities as well as risks from smoking during pregnancy and maternal obesity.
Services in the north-east are currently under critical pressure with queues of ambulances repeatedly seen waiting outside hospitals due to a shortage of beds as well as a lack of GPs.
Mrs Webb hopes the report will be “a trigger for all of us to act” to examine how our daily lives can be improved to boost our health.
She said: “The pressures on services at present are well known. If we all play our part, making healthier choices, we end up in a win-win situation; individuals are happier and healthier, thereby reducing the demand for services.
“Prevention is better than cure was true when the NHS was founded almost 75 years ago, and it remains true today.”
Continuing impact of Covid
Mrs Webb warns the impact of Covid continues to be felt throughout our daily lives and says the longer-term effect of the pandemic is now being felt.
It is estimated about 20,000 people across the NHS Grampian region have Long Covid with about 2,000 taking sick leave.
Meanwhile, health visitors report a growing problem of children with speech and language problems, which could affect their readiness for school and later job prospects.
And the growing impact of loneliness among pensioners is believed to be “still emerging” despite the strong community resilience that developed among many.
Mrs Webb added: “Whilst we are now moving forward from the pandemic we are still experiencing the longer-term impacts and the world in which we live has changed with significant increases in the cost of living.
“The demand and need for health and social care is increasing. Infectious diseases continue to pose a significant risk to our communities.”
How can stark warnings be averted?
Despite the grim picture, Mrs Webb has stressed the cycle of growing health inequalities can be broken.
A series of workshops are being planned for the coming months across the NHS Grampian area to develop an action plan to meet the challenges identified.
The cost of living crisis has been identified as a “public health emergency” with an estimated one in eight children in Grampian living in poverty.
Mrs Webb has stressed it will take a combination of all public agencies, the private sector and individuals to make changes to reverse the trend.
She said: “Almost every aspect of our lives impacts our health – our jobs, homes, education, transport, poverty and discrimination.
“Health improvement is not solely the responsibility of the NHS; we need other organisations, communities and individuals to all play their part.
“Healthier lives are within reach for all of us, but that requires all of us to take action.”
Conversation