BHF comment
BHF joins landmark commission on health and prosperity
Our chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths is joining a new commission on health and prosperity set up by leading think tank the Institute for Public Policy and Research (IPPR).
The new cross-party Health and Prosperity Commission, chaired by leading surgeon Lord Ara Darzi and former chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies, will work over the next two years to better understand the interconnections between health and the economy, and to set out a plan to achieve better health for all.
The launch of the commission comes as a new report from IPPR warned that health inequalities and a lack of effective policies mean that people are living shorter lives, with more years spent in poor health, and face greater barriers to staying in and getting on at work.
New analysis from IPPR and health analytics company Lane, Clark & Peacock revealed that people living in the most economically deprived parts of the country fall into ill health five years earlier than the national average and 12 years sooner than people living in the healthiest area, Wokingham.
The report also found that there are now more than a million workers missing from the workforce compared to before the pandemic, and about 400,000 of these are no longer working because of health factors.
If this is not addressed, economic activity will be dragged down by an estimated £8 billion this year, the IPPR warns.
Cardiovascular disease is strongly associated with health inequalities, contributing to a quarter of the life expectancy gaps between the most and least deprived communities in men and contributing to 22 per cent of the gap in women.
A make or break moment
Commenting on the launch of the commission, our chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said: "I am delighted to join the commission at a make-or-break moment for the nation’s health. We are at a crossroads in an important national conversation about the fundamental role our health plays in the UK’s economic prosperity.
"Cardiovascular disease and its risk factors are a major driver of health inequality in the UK. It is unacceptable that today the heaviest burden of heart disease is carried by people living in the most deprived communities.
"This important IPPR analysis shows we must go beyond the pre-pandemic status quo if we are going to improve the health and wealth of people across the UK.
"While the scale of the challenge is large, it is critical to seize this moment and make significant strides in the Government’s levelling up ambitions and aim to give everyone five more years of healthy life."