People in England’s poorest areas live an average of seven years less than those in the richest ones, says a major report on health inequalities.
Epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, says the NHS must spend much more on preventing illness. And he calls for an increase in the minimum wage to allow everyone to have a healthy lifestyle.
The health secretary, Andy Burnham, has welcomed the government-commissioned report and said more work was needed.
The Marmot Review shows that although life expectancy has risen in poor and rich areas, inequalities persist.
People in the poorest neighbourhoods will also spend a greater proportion of those shorter lives unwell.
The report estimates up to 202,000 early deaths could be avoided, if everyone in the population enjoyed the same health as university graduates.
Doing nothing to tackle these inequalities would cost the economy more, according to the review, which says inequality in illness accounts for £33bn of lost productivity every year.
Read more at BBC Health.
Tags: Public health
