The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh will this afternoon (Wednesday 20 September) host the launch of a call to action from the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) in Scotland, ‘Healthy Lives, Fairer Futures'. This recommends eight key priorities for the Scottish Government as the new Parliamentary year begins.
Among the identified priorities are:
The call to action was written following an extensive consultation with the 350 FPH members currently living and working in Scotland, who identified tackling inequality as a recurring theme.
Dr Lorna Willocks, Consultant in Public Health Medicine and College representative to the FPH in Scotland, said:
“We know that people’s wellbeing can be adversely affected by public policies where health is not the major focus. That’s why we need all policy making to take health considerations into account.
“The environment and circumstances that people live in are just as important as the health services available to them when it comes to living a long and healthy life.”
Prof Derek Bell, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:
“Today’s publication highlights the need to improve the social and economic conditions in which people live in order to tackle poor health. People from more economically deprived communities make greater use of unscheduled care services. It is important to ensure that patients are treated in the most appropriate setting, at the right time, and cared for by the right person. Therefore work to address inequalities and deprivation combined with investment in prevention may help to reduce the burden on both hospitals and general practice in Scotland.
“We support the Faculty’s call to the Scottish Government to pursue policies that will improve circumstances which lead to poor health or social exclusion. The College is committed to working with the Faculty and other organisations to embed actions that address the social determinants of health”.
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