Doctors have reported a rise in the number of patients with Victorian diseases such as scabies, as the Royal College of Physicians urged the government to do more to fight poverty.
The survey of 882 doctors found 89% were concerned about the impact of health inequalities on their patients, while 72% had seen more patients in the past three months with illnesses related to poor-quality housing, air pollution and access to transport.
The Royal College of Physicians found 46% of respondents said that at least half of their workload involved illnesses linked to social factors.
One doctor said that they had seen patients with two Victorian skin diseases, erysipelas and scabies, over the past three months. Another said they were seeing more people “with poor nutritional status due to poverty”, eventually leading to “prolonged and impaired recovery from acute illnesses”.
Scabies is a highly contagious condition caused by mites, resulting in an itchy rash. It is spread through close skin contact and should be treated quickly to stop it spreading.
Several patients had contracted hypothermia. One doctor said it was due to the patient not being able to afford heating at home.
The Royal College of Physicians has called on the government to set out how its health mission will address these illnesses.
Dr Ash Bassi, a consultant gastroenterologist based in Prescot, Merseyside, said doctors have been seeing patients whose health conditions “are worsened by damp and cold housing, where respiratory illnesses become chronic conditions”.
Bassi added: “We see the impact of food insecurity, where poor nutrition contributes to long-term health complications. Poor uptake of screening programmes further exacerbates health inequalities. Patients struggling with unstable employment or financial hardship often delay seeking medical help, leading to more severe illness by the time they reach us.”
Dr John Dean, the clinical vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “The UK government came into office promising bold action on the things that make us ill in the first place. Now it must set out the detail of its health mission and how the mission delivery board will tackle the root causes of ill-health such as poor housing, employment, tobacco, obesity and air quality.
“With over 2.5 million more people in England projected to be living with a major illness by 2040, there is no time to waste. We need assurances that improving health and tackling health inequalities remain a priority.
“Everything from the places we live to the food we eat affects our health. Government must use its health mission delivery board to deliver a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities and address the social determinants of health.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Through our plan for change, this government will tackle head on the appalling healthcare inequalities that exist within our systems.
“One of our core priorities is to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions in England.
“Our fundamental shift from sickness to prevention will play a vital role in tackling inequalities, making people healthier and reducing pressure on the NHS.”
Source: theguardian.com
