The recently released findings from the census taken by the Royal College of Physicians points directly to the need to tackle the social and economic issues that are the root cause of so much of the nation’s ill health. That’s the clear conclusion that the Royal College has come to and that is also the view of Margaret Mullane, Labour PPC for Dagenham and Rainham.
Margaret said: “Doctors report the rise in the number of patients they are seeing with ill health is largely due to the wider determinants of health, such as living in mouldy or damp homes, employment issues or poor air quality, a census has revealed. The Royal College of Physicians is calling for government to address the “avoidable social causes” of ill health. The census found that 55% of consultant physicians had seen more patients with ill health over the last three months due to social and economic factors.”
The president of the Royal College of Physicians, Dr Sarah Clarke, was on record saying that so many doctors are seeing more patients with illness related to the wider determinants of health, such as housing and poor air quality.
Margaret went on to add: “The findings from this census present a stark image of public health. Many doctors feel that the National Health Service has actually become a national sickness service, dealing with the symptoms of disease and limited in its ability to prevent disease.
This is an indictment of 14 years of failed Tory Government and will remain the case for as long as we neglect the root causes of ill health. We need a new approach to address housing conditions, poor air quality and ensuring access to basic necessities for healthy living for struggling families. In all of the noise we hear in the media, the voices of these people and families gets drowned out, it’s time that they are heard.”
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