Health Reforms: Andrew Lansley To Announce New Institute For Health Equity

Health Reforms: Lansley To Announce New Institute For Health Equity
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A new institute to tackle health inequalities will be launched.

The organisation will receive £1 million from the Department of Health over the next three years to fund its work in collecting evidence and providing expert advice in England, and will be led by public health expert Professor Sir Michael Marmot.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will set out the Government's support for the University College London (UCL) Institute for Health Equity in a speech on Monday.

Mr Lansley will tell the Health Action Partnership International conference in London: "A stark picture has emerged in this country over the past 20 years of a growing divide in the health outcomes between rich and poor.

"For example, men living in Blackpool can expect to live on average 11.5 years less than men living in Kensington and Chelsea."

He will declare that the Government is creating a new public health system that will reduce the inequalities that exist nationwide.

"The new Institute of Health Equity will provide invaluable advice and support for local organisations and health professionals during the transition to this fairer system.

"Health inequalities cannot be transformed overnight but the work of Sir Michael Marmot and his team should help turn evidence into action and help improve the health of their local communities," Mr Lansley will say.

Sir Michael will add: "I am delighted to see work to tackle health inequalities integrated into the Government's plans for public health.

"The UCL Institute of Health Equity has a global remit to ensure population health is improved and health inequities are reduced within and between countries, through action on the social determinants of health. To enable individuals to be in control of their own lives action is needed on the social circumstances in which we are born, grow, live, work and age."