Published: Monday, 10th March, 2008 16:30
Health equality matters
By Duncan McNeil
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LAST week saw GPs angrily, and reluctantly, voting for the least-worst option presented to them by the Government in the long-running dispute over their working hours.
While the idea of seeing a GP outside office hours has attractions — especially for commuters, whose workplace may be many miles from their home and GP’s surgery — I share some doctors’ concerns that the £9.5 million it reportedly took to get this deal through could have been better spent.
The real health challenge in Scotland is tackling the pockets of serious ill-health which still blight communities like ours.
The fact is people living in the poorest areas have the poorest health.
But they also have the least access to GP services. And, when they do see a GP, it will be for a shorter consultation and with a less-experienced doctor.
So is anyone really surprised they suffer from more serious illnesses?
If extra money is available, surely it should be spent addressing these health inequalities, rather than making it easier for those who already access their GP to continue to do so?
But, worryingly, instead of focusing resources on those in most need, the Government’s new health funding formula is set to strip NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde of around £35.6 million a year.
Diverting funds away from areas like ours is a move in the wrong direction and will do nothing but perpetuate the inequalities which condemn too many to a shorter, sicker life.
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