As medical professionals, we cannot stay silent on inequality

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‘We know from the evidence that poverty and inequality make no sense for society’ (Getty Images)

The indication that Thérèse Coffey is planning to scrap the promised health inequality white paper has already been widely criticised by medical leaders, and is a further indication that the entire government has moved away from its previous plans to level up.

We know from our collective experience as GPs that behind damaging economic policy, there are real people. These people are children with cold damage to their hands in winter due to fuel poverty, they are people with diseases transmitted from rats (leptospirosis) due to overcrowded housing, they are adults drinking themselves to death due to job losses and economic hardship.

We know from the evidence that poverty and inequality make no sense for society. For the young, a childhood of deprivation skews your chances towards a lifetime of ill health. For working adults, poverty increases the number of years lived with chronic diseases and increases “deaths of despair” such as alcoholism and suicide. For the elderly, poverty means more loneliness, depression and social isolation.

The World Health Organisation advocates a “health in all policies” approach because most of our health is determined by factors outside traditional health services. Health services cannot cope without wider policy pulling its weight in keeping us healthy.

The current government approach is a disaster for the NHS on two fronts. First, it will lead to cuts in public spending for services that have already been starved by years of austerity and have little left to cut. Second, it will make the population sicker, less able to work and contribute to society, and more likely to seek care from a struggling NHS as a result.

We cannot stay quiet on these issues. Our pillars of medical ethics ask us to consider justice (fairness), and to do no harm. Current government policy is grossly unjust and harmful. It is our moral duty to speak up on behalf of our patients and I would urge all royal medical colleges, national bodies, and powerful and influential individuals to do the same. 

What we are seeing is the spectre of irreversible damage to an entire generation. This is the time to stand up and be counted in your opposition to this senseless, cruel and unjust approach.

Dr Tom Holdsworth, chair of Sheffield Primary Care Clinical Directors and Clinical Director Townships 1 PCN

Dr Tom McAnea, clinical director West 5 PCN

Dr Joshua Meek, clinical director Foundry PCN

Dr Martin Billington, clinical director Townships 2 PCN

Dr Leigh Sorsbie, GP and clinical director for health inequalities

Dr David McCalister, clinical director Peak Edge PCN

Dr Cynthia Das, clinical director UoS Student Network PCN

Dr Tom O’Brien, clinical director SAPA5 PCN

Dr Julie Endacott, clinical director City Centre PCN

Dr David Baron, clinical director Upper Don PCN

Dr Rowan Kenny, clinical director Porter Valley PCN

Dr Helen McDonough, clinical director GPA1 PCN

Dr Lucy Cormack, clinical director Seven Hills PCN

Dr Ollie Hart, clinical director Heeley Plus PCN

Dr Emma Reynolds, clinical director Hillsborough PCN

Dr Nicola Moody, clinical director Network North PCN

Change is not always disruptive

Here is a suggestion to get the nation out of the shambles the latest Conservative government has got it into.

The so-called “mini-budget” should be completely reversed, taking us back to the position before Kwasi Kwarteng delivered his disastrous announcements (less, of course, the billions the country has had to spend as a result of lost confidence). Then, the government should start from scratch, this time not depending on blind dogma, but taking advice from people with experience (instead of sacking them).

Despite what Liz Truss claims, change is not always disruptive. Change management is a prized skill in business. Change is only disruptive if it is unplanned and if it is implemented by unskilled, incompetent people.

Arthur Streatfield

Bath

Tory chaos, thanks to Mr Cameron

This poor excuse for a government is so far out of touch with the needs of the country, it might as well be living in another world.

At this time of severe hardship, to continue with the policies that did not work decades ago dressed up as “growth, growth, growth” lacks foresight and ability to take proper control of the situation. Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng are simply passing the buck while putting their heads back into the sand.

Passing the baton to an already exhausted population to sort out is tantamount to surrendering our fate. We need to be led out of the Tory party’s three-term mess. And let’s be honest, since leaving the EU, we have slowly descended into chaos.

Since David Cameron’s referendum, successive Tory PMs have each been worse than the previous one. We need a general election to give the new government the people’s mandate to bring this chaos under control.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

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Moving on up

I know virtually nothing about popular music, but perhaps Liz Truss should have walked on to the stage at the Tory conference to “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash.

Dr Anthony Ingleton

Sheffield

Vivienne Rook

I’m guessing politicians love it when we take their words, behaviour and outfits in public at face value. 

So how should I take the outfit Liz Truss wore at the conference? Identical to Emma Thompson’s fascist dictator in Years and Years, right down to the belt.

Ian Henderson

Norwich