It is “scandalous” in modern Scotland that children can be condemned to a life of poor health and poverty because of where they were born or their family’s circumstances, Public Health Minister Shona Robison said yesterday as she launched the Health Inequalities task force report in Parliament.
Robison described the ‘Equally Well’ report as a “blueprint” to achieve generational transformation.
However, to achieve this she said that joined up working and a focus on the very early years of a child’s life will be “crucial.”
She continued: "What is different about the approach we are proposing is that it will shift the emphasis from dealing with the consequences of health inequalities to tackling the underlying causes.
"Securing such radical change cannot happen overnight. However, just because something is difficult, or will take a long time, does not mean that we should not do it.
"I believe the rewards - in terms of a better quality of life for those who have the least - will be worth the efforts in our drive to make Scotland equally well."
COSLA's Health and Well-being Spokesperson, Cllr Ronnie McColl, said it was a “fundamental injustice” that a person’s health and wellbeing should be determined by social circumstances not of their choosing.
He continued:"We need to become more proactive in tackling health inequalities. If we do not do this, we will merely be falling back on a strategy that addresses the manifestations of disadvantage rather than tackling the source of disadvantage. Consequently, nothing will change: poverty and other social inequalities will continue to place vulnerable families at risk. We know that it will be difficult to generate change and we appreciate that our objectives must be long-term; but with determination and leadership from the Scottish Government and COSLA, I believe that our aspirations can be realised."
Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns said that of all the attempts he has been involved in to tackle health inequalities during his long career, the “Equally Well” strategy is the “most innovative and most likely to succeed.”
He continued:"It is based on a comprehensive search for the underlying mechanisms which drive health inequalities, and a consideration of the policies most likely to deal with them. The challenge now is to turn the strategy into real action."
You can access the report here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/25104032/0
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