Health and poverty: There is a link between poor health and low income, explains City Council Leader Ric Metcalfe, and the latest health profile for Lincoln highlights the problems.
By Ric MetcalfeRic Metcalfe, City of Lincoln Council Leader
Public Health England has just published its national 2013 health profiles for every area in the country. It does not make good reading as far as the City of Lincoln is concerned.
The health of people in Lincoln is worse than the England average, deprivation is higher than average, with about 4,000 children living in poverty.
Life expectancy is lower than the England average, 10.6 years lower for men and 5.8 years lower for women in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived.
Premature death from heart disease and strokes has reduced but is higher than the English average.
Last year there were more than 1,600 instances of recorded drug misuse in the City, among the very highest in the country. There were more than 2,000 cases of hospital stays for alcohol related harm and 458 hospital stays for self harm.
In 2010/11, it was estimated there were more than 1,600 users of opiates and/or crack cocaine in the city, among the very highest rate per population in the country. There were more than 2,000 hospital stays for alcohol related harm and 458 cases of hospital stays for self harm, amongst Lincoln residents.
Teenage pregnancy remains high at 51 per 1000 15-17 year old females. There were 79 teenage pregnancies in Lincoln in 2009-2011.
It has been fashionable in recent years to seek the explanation for poor health in the behaviour and bad choices among people who are the most health disadvantaged. Whilst some people undoubtedly do things which are bad for their health, the underlying and more compelling explanations I believe lie in the social and economic conditions which surround people.
The acknowledged world expert Sir Michael Marmot is absolutely clear about the link between poor health and low income and inequality and his recent work on the adverse impact of the economic downturn and on the government’s programme of cuts in income maintenance make interesting reading.
It does not of course really take social research to see that unemployment is quite likely to lead to depression and in some cases more serious mental health problems.
That low income will have a similar effect and lead to poor diets and a very restricted quality of life and the constant doing without what many of us take for granted as the necessities of life will take its toll on people’s health and well being.
This matters, not least because many children are getting a very bad start in life through no fault of their own, storing up all sorts of physical and mental health problems in later life which may be hard to reverse.
It matters because there is a huge cost to the public purse of poor health.
Most of the NHS budget is spent on picking up the pieces after people’s health has been damaged, sometimes irreparably, instead of recognising the need to tackle the cause of that ill health in the first place, with better incomes for all, more job opportunities, better quality and more affordable housing and all the things that help people to lead healthier and happier lives.
It matters most of all because health disadvantage is an issue of social justice.
What sort of society can allow some people to die prematurely, have longer periods of life limiting disease, condemn children to have, in nearly a quarter of households in Lincoln, insufficient to eat and having to get by on less than 60% of average household income.
The City of Lincoln will be discussing with its partners, not for the first time, but with a renewed sense of urgency, what we can and what we should do to address the continuing crisis in the health of many of our poorest citizens.
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Councillor Ric Metcalfe is the Labour Leader of the City of Lincoln Council.
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Grimsby welcomed back the Fishermen’s Memorial Statue as it was put back in place at St James’ Square.
The statue was removed from its usual home as part of a transformation at St James’ Square in the town, and is now back after a spruce-up.
It was brought back on Friday, January 15 and lifted carefully into its position, this time facing towards the Minster.
St James’ Square was closed for a major makeover, as the £1.8m overhaul is set to create a family-friendly space for Grimsby.
The majority of works at the square will be completed by the end of January 2021, with new furniture, planting, lighting and CCTV being put in place.
The return of the memorial also allows for plans to be made for the annual Lost Fishermen’s service to come back to the Minster and the square this year, in honour of those who lost their life at sea.
The event was cancelled and instead went virtual in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, with a recorded event made available to people online.
The memorial facing the Minster means that crowds can gather away from the main footpath during the service, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gill Ross, chair of the Friends of Grimsby Fishermen’s Mission, said: “To have the statue is an opportunity for us all to be reminded of those who risked their lives for our national dish and for us to say thank you for that.
“The square is the perfect location for it, and we all look forward to the service returning there.”
Lincolnshire County Council has been told to pay over £2,000 to a mother after failing to provide a “suitable education” for her daughter, who could not attend school due to health problems.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the council caused unnecessary distress, disadvantaged the daughter educationally, and a further £200 was paid for the “time, trouble and […] financial costs pursuing [the mother’s] complaint.”
The council was at fault for its failure to provide alternative education between October 2019 and February 2020 for the daughter, who had to leave school due to a medical condition that causes fatigue, anxiety, and panic attacks
The daughter’s school referred her to the council for alternatives as it couldn’t provide her with a suitable full-time education.
However, after screening, the council said she did not meet the criteria due to medical evidence not being robust enough to explain why she was too unwell to attend school. The council said it was in line with its policy.
In January 2020, after the mother showed the council a GP letter, it decided to reconsider referral for the daughter to go to a specialist school.
Denied again, the council asked for a more recent report from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), who had previously supported the daughter.
As a result, the mother complained to the council that her daughter hadn’t received an education since October 2019.
The council told the mother it made two requests to specialist schools and these were both refused, so they deemed the daughter’s absence from school unauthorised.
After receiving a warning about her daughter’s attendance from school, the mother sought the help of a solicitor who approached the council and said it was in breach of its duty to provide the daughter with an education.
The council considered the CAMHS report provided a month earlier and decided the daughter was eligible for a specialist school.
Since the report, the mother was happy with the support provided by the school.
The £2,000 is hoped to go to the “educational benefit to acknowledge the loss of education” and amounts to £400 for every month the daughter received no education.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said: “Councils are responsible for providing education to children who cannot attend school by reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise may not for any period receive suitable education unless arrangements are made for them.”
John Coupland Hospital in Gainsborough will make local history this weekend as it becomes the first place to administer a COVID-19 vaccination in West Lindsey.
The first vaccine appointments have been scheduled for Saturday, January 16 at the hospital, as part of the nationwide rollout of the vaccination programme.
It is one of the 21 community vaccination hubs announced across Greater Lincolnshire, and the first in West Lindsey.
West Lindsey District Council is urging people to remember that the NHS will make contact with residents when it is their turn to receive a vaccine, reiterating the point that there is no need to contact your local GP.
Despite the difficult weather conditions over the last few days, all vaccination centres scheduled to open in Lincolnshire will continue to operate.
Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr Owen Bierley, said: “This pandemic has been a dark time in the history of our district, and it is by no means over yet, but I am overjoyed to know that some of our residents will be provided with some form of protection over the next few days and weeks.
“This is the beginning of our district’s fightback against this torrid virus.
“I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone at the NHS for the work they are doing at incredible speed. Our district will forever be grateful.”
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