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4. Tackling Health Inequalities
| What this will mean for you |
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- Greater targeting of resources on services that support disadvantaged people and communities, particularly those with the most complex needs
- A stronger focus on identifying and addressing the wider health needs of those with physical disabilities and mental health problems
- NHSScotland putting health inequalities at the heart of its agenda
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Our Approach
A Ministerial task force on health inequalities led by Shona Robison, Minister for Public Health, has been set up to identify and prioritise practical actions to reduce the most significant and widening health inequalities in Scotland. It will examine opportunities to work more effectively across Government and with our partners in the public, private and voluntary sectors to reduce the inequalities in people's environments, income, employment, educational attainment, skills, housing and other issues that have the biggest impact on their health. It will also look at the implications for the way in which we design our services and distribute resources across the country. The task force will report to Cabinet by May 2008.
Framework for Discussion
This discussion offers an opportunity to inform the work of the new Ministerial task force and help guide the way in which we:
- Ensure that primary care and other resources are targeted appropriately in order to tackle health inequalities
- Learn from good local strategies and services and the range of pilot programmes already in place across Scotland
- Take effective action on underlying problems such as quality of life, deprivation, homelessness, barriers to employment, addiction and the family environment in children's early years
- Design and deliver services and communication campaigns to reflect the specific needs of deprived communities and those with the most complex and challenging needs, such as people with mental illness, ex-offenders, homeless people, looked after children and the children of drug misusing parents
- Maintain an effective range of evidence based treatments for drug users in community settings and as part of the criminal justice system
- Advance our equality and diversity agenda, including the development of a new National Strategy and Action Plan on Race Equality and a programme of work to sharpen our response to the challenges of an ageing population
- Build on the 10 year "Choose Life" strategy and ensure that staff throughout NHSScotland are better trained and equipped to help us reduce the number of people who commit suicide
- Provide more responsive and better quality care for people with disabilities, with a particular focus on improving access, communication and respect for individuals
- Enable and encourage NHS Boards to focus on reducing health inequalities in the way they design and deliver services, engage with local communities, allocate resources and recruit staff
| Issues to consider |
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- How could the approach described above be developed further to make a sustained impact on health inequalities?
- Which aspects of the suggested approach would you prioritise?
- What specific actions should NHSScotland take at a national, regional or local level to tackle discrimination, promote equality and diversity and reduce health inequalities in our society?
- What further opportunities do you see for taking this agenda forward through cooperation and collaboration between the NHS and its partners?
- Have you had any recent personal experiences that might help us shape and inform future actions across Scotland?
- Which key performance targets would best focus NHSScotland on tackling health inequalities across Scotland?
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