Re: Health select committee: contribution of the NHS to reducing health inequalities

[Guest guest]

sorry, forgot attachment!  On 20 Dec 2007, at 14:09, Cowley wrote:I have just heard about this inquiry (which was advertised by press release at the end of November, I understand), which invites submissions from individuals and organisations.  It seems an important opportunity, but the deadline is very close:  9th January.  I attach this, and have put the whole text into the body of the email.  To quote:"The Committee will examine the extent to which the NHS can help to achieve a reduction in health inequalities, particularly through primary care and public health services. The inquiry will focus on:The extent to which the NHS can contribute to reducing health inequalities, given that many of the causes of inequalities relate to other policy areas e.g. taxation, employment, housing, education and local government; The distribution and quality of GP services and their influence on health inequalities, including how the Quality and Outcomes Framework and Practice-based Commissioning might be used to improve the quality and distribution of GP services to reduce health inequalities; The effectiveness of public health services at reducing inequalities by targeting key causes such as smoking and obesity, including whether some public health interventions may lead to increases in health inequalities; and which interventions are most cost-effective; Whether specific interventions designed to tackle health inequalities, such as Sure Start and Health Action Zones, have proved effective and cost-effective; The success of NHS organisations at co-ordinating activities with other organisations, for example local authorities, education and housing providers, to tackle inequalities; and what incentives can be provided to ensure these organisations improve care The effectiveness of the Department of Health in co-ordinating policy with other government departments, in order to meets its Public Service Agreement targets for reducing inequalities; and Whether the Government is likely to meet its Public Service Agreement targets in respect of health inequalities.Organisations and individuals are invited to submit written evidence. Written evidence should if possible be in Word or rich text format—not PDF format—and sent by e-mail to healthcommemparliament (DOT) uk . The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear if the submission is from an individual or on behalf of an organisation. The deadline is Wednesday 9 January 2008. Submissions must address the terms of reference. They should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum and should be no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary. Further guidance on the submission of evidence can be found at www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/witnessguide.pdf . Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter or e-mail. Evidence sessions are likely to commence after the February Half Term Recess and a later press notice will give details of these. "best wishessarahcowley183btinternethttp://myprofile.cos.com/S124021COn sarahcowley183@...http://myprofile.cos.com/S124021COn

[Guest guest]

Thanks

I would very much like to contribute to a response if one were being

co-ordinated.

Thanks and best wishes

Quoting Cowley <sarahcowley183@...>:

> I have just heard about this inquiry (which was advertised by press

> release at the end of November, I understand), which invites

> submissions from individuals and organisations. It seems an important

> opportunity, but the deadline is very close: 9th January. I attach

> this, and have put the whole text into the body of the email. To

> quote:

>

> " The Committee will examine the extent to which the NHS can help to

> achieve a reduction in health inequalities, particularly through

> primary care and public health services. The inquiry will focus on:

>

> The extent to which the NHS can contribute to reducing health

> inequalities, given that many of the causes of inequalities relate to

> other policy areas e.g. taxation, employment, housing, education and

> local government;

> The distribution and quality of GP services and their influence on

> health inequalities, including how the Quality and Outcomes Framework

> and Practice-based Commissioning might be used to improve the quality

> and distribution of GP services to reduce health inequalities;

> The effectiveness of public health services at reducing inequalities

> by targeting key causes such as smoking and obesity, including whether

> some public health interventions may lead to increases in health

> inequalities; and which interventions are most cost-effective;

> Whether specific interventions designed to tackle health inequalities,

> such as Sure Start and Health Action Zones, have proved effective and

> cost-effective;

> The success of NHS organisations at co-ordinating activities with

> other organisations, for example local authorities, education and

> housing providers, to tackle inequalities; and what incentives can be

> provided to ensure these organisations improve care

> The effectiveness of the Department of Health in co-ordinating policy

> with other government departments, in order to meets its Public

> Service Agreement targets for reducing inequalities; and

> Whether the Government is likely to meet its Public Service Agreement

> targets in respect of health inequalities.

> Organisations and individuals are invited to submit written

> evidence. Written evidence should if possible be in Word or rich

> text format— not PDF format—and sent by e-mail to

> healthcommem@... . The body of the e-mail must include a

> contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail

> should also make clear if the submission is from an individual or

> on behalf of an organisation. The deadline is Wednesday 9 January

> 2008.

>

> Submissions must address the terms of reference. They should be in the

> format of a self-contained memorandum and should be no more than 3,000

> words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the

> document must include an executive summary. Further guidance on the

> submission of evidence can be found at www.parliament.uk/

> documents/upload/witnessguide.pdf .

>

> Submissions should be original work, not previously published or

> circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred

> to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once

> submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and

> no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained

> permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that

> Committees are not able to investigate individual cases.

>

> The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the

> written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence,

> publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through

> the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to

> be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe

> would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into

> account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the

> evidence.

>

> For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals

> wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a

> covering letter or e-mail.

>

> Evidence sessions are likely to commence after the February Half Term

> Recess and a later press notice will give details of these. "

>

> best wishes

>

>

>

>

>

> sarahcowley183@...

> http://myprofile.cos.com/S124021COn

--

Malone

mary.malone@...

[Guest guest]

Dear Senate,

In relation to health inequalities, may I draw members attention to a new series in the Lancet, beginning this week with

Epidemiology and causes of preterm birthThe Lancet, Volume 371, Issue 9606, 5 January 2008-11 January 2008, Pages 75-84 L Goldenberg, F Culhane, Jay D Iams and o Romero

Over 1 in 8 babies in the USA are now born prematurely, and Britain is catching up. Some to the references in Goldenberg et al around the impact of bacterial infection and substance use are rather out-of-date - with rising levels of Chlamydia, drink and drugs in the UK, the prevalence of preterm birth may accelerate here. Although Goldenberg does mention 'stress' including antenatal depression as a risk factor, he does not seem to include domestic violence, which we know from Bewley at al at St. ' Hospital is often directed at pregnant women.

In terms of health inequalities, one observation in this review is puzzling me: in the USA both African American and Hispanic women experience marked inequalities in income, housing and access to healthcare, but rates of preterm birth are much higher in one community than the other. What is the protective factor among Latinas?

Happy 2008,

Woody.

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of CowleySent: 20 December 2007 14:16 Subject: Re: Health select committee: contribution of the NHS to reducing health inequalities

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[Guest guest]

Very helpful, thank you Woody.  best wishes  On 7 Jan 2008, at 10:49, Woody Caan wrote:Dear Senate, In relation to health inequalities, may I draw members attention to a new series in the Lancet, beginning this week withEpidemiology and causes of preterm birthThe Lancet, Volume 371, Issue 9606, 5 January 2008-11 January 2008, Pages 75-84 L Goldenberg, F Culhane, Jay D Iams and o Romero Over 1 in 8 babies in the USA are now born prematurely, and Britain is catching up. Some to the references in Goldenberg et al around the impact of bacterial infection and substance use are rather out-of-date - with rising levels of Chlamydia, drink and drugs in the UK, the prevalence of preterm birth may accelerate here. Although Goldenberg does mention 'stress' including antenatal depression as a risk factor, he does not seem to include domestic violence, which we know from  Bewley at al at St. ' Hospital is often directed at pregnant women. In terms of health inequalities, one observation in this review is puzzling me: in the USA both African American and Hispanic women experience marked inequalities in income, housing and access to healthcare, but rates of preterm birth are much higher in one community than the other. What is the protective factor among Latinas? Happy 2008,Woody.From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of CowleySent: 20 December 2007 14:16 Subject: Re: Health select committee: contribution of the NHS to reducing health inequalitiesThis e-mail and any attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and may be privileged. If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone: please reply to this e-mail to highlight the error and then immediately delete the e-mail from your system. Any opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Anglia Ruskin University. Although measures have been taken to ensure that this e-mail and attachments are free from any virus we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. Please note that this message has been sent over public networks which may not be a 100% secure communications sarahcowley183@...http://myprofile.cos.com/S124021COn