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Health Inequalities

It is incumbent on each of us to thank my hon. and good Friend the Member for Wigan (Mr. Turner) for securing such an important debate. Each of my Labour colleagues who has spoken previously has covered the general issues adequately, so I shall keep my comments specific to my own city of Salford and to the north-west. For Salford, health inequalities are not just about quality of life, important though that is; they are about the actual lengths of people's lives. They are important to the SIGOMA organisation, which was mentioned earlier, because Salford is an active member of that group. As to the more general comments made by my hon. Friends, let me just say that if we are to deliver the joined-up services for which we strive, and improve the health of our citizens and successfully tackle social problems in our neighbourhoods, the Government need to move swiftly towards full implementation of their own funding targets. In Salford, the evidence is stark. Despite huge improvements in the general health, housing, employment, income and education of Salford residents, the level of relative inequalities in health in parts of the city remain as great as they were 100 years ago, if not greater. In parts of Salford, male life expectancy based on 2003-05 figures is 73.8 years, compared with 76.9 years for England as a whole. The equivalent figures for women are 78.4 years in Salford, compared with 81.1 years elsewhere. That means that male life expectancy in Salford is the sixth lowest in England, and female life expectancy is the fifth lowest. Life expectancy in Salford has improved in recent years, year on year, but the gap for male life expectancy between Salford and England as a whole—3.1 years—is the same now as it was eight years ago. For women, it has widened from 2.3 years to 2.7 years. The death rate from smoking in Salford is higher than the north-west and England averages, and is the fifth highest in England. Smoking accounts for 505 deaths in Salford every year—deaths that are avoidable. The early death rate from heart disease and strokes is higher than the north-west and England averages and is the fifth highest in England. The number of people claiming sickness benefit in Salford because of mental health problems is higher than the north-west and England averages and is the sixth highest in England. The rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions is also above the north-west and England averages and is the tenth highest in England. Reducing health inequalities and improving well-being therefore remains one of the key challenges across agencies in Salford and requires an active and co-ordinated approach. After taking weighting factors into account, Salford PCT's GPs have more patients to care for than the national average. The PCT estimates that we would need an additional 17 full-time GPs over and above the current 132 GP full-time equivalents to bring the average weighted GP list size down to the national average. Extra doctors would result in greater specialisation, and most practices could, for example, have GPs specialising in areas such as diabetes and heart disease. That, in turn, could lead to reduced mortality rates. On the plus side, I should say that the number of road injuries and road deaths in Salford is relatively low and that significantly more older people are helped to live at home than the national average. If you have not visited Salford, Mr. Illsley, you might be surprised to hear, given what I have said, that a recent Royal Bank of Scotland survey, which developed an index of lifestyle indicators and how much they cost, found that Salford is one of the best places in Britain to live—in fact, it is No. 5. Given that Salford has such good facilities, I want residents to be around and in good health for as long as possible to enjoy them and I want them to have better-than-average life expectancies. The problem before us is complex, and we need action on a number of fronts. For example, economic and regeneration policies have a role to play, as my colleagues have said. I applaud the north-west food and health action plan, which was published at the beginning of the year. It looks at how regional agriculture and food industries can help local people to make food choices for healthier lifestyles. I was also pleased to see a recent report from NHS North West and others, which championed the role that local parks can play in improving our physical fitness and general well-being. It does not help, however, that we will lose our excellent maternity services, and we will continue campaigning to retain those services so that mothers can continue having their babies safely in Salford. Today's debate is more focused on health funding, however, and it is clearly about not only quality of life, but length of life. I therefore urge the Government to deliver health funding based on need, and the same goes for local authority social services. Our public and voluntary authorities will continue to work together to deliver the best for local people. If we in Salford are given additional resources, we will use them wisely and effectively. We now need to ensure that the tremendous social, environmental and economic progress that has been made in Salford is matched by progress in the health of Salford people.