Report to the People
5th November 2007
Politics of Health
As
an exponent of rough and tumble politics, I can’t honestly deny that
politicians enjoy trading verbal blows and put-downs.
But,
when the dust settles, politics can be a serious business which really changes
lives.
Take
last week’s news that the deaths from heart disease in Scotland among the
under-75s have fallen by 8.4% in just one year.
This
isn’t an accident. It is down to
the fact that politicians took the decision to throw the weight of the NHS
squarely behind tackling Scotland’s big killers.
Last
week’s figures show that the 50% target has already been met and statisticians
say the new ambitious 60% goal will be met if the current downward trend
continues.
But
there is still a huge amount to do. Inequalities
in health and life expectancy between the rich and poor are still far too wide.
Chronic poor health and poor quality of life still blight parts of our
own community.
That’s
why it’s important that we get our fair share of health funding.
Not
only must our Health Board’s funding allocation from the Scottish Government
give us a greater share of the overall budget, funding decisions within
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde must also reflect the particular level of need
here in Greenock and Inverclyde.
Only
then will we be able to press on and finish the job.
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