health – Page 32 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

LEAP celebrates 300th graduation

LEAP (Lothians & Edinburgh Abstinence Programme) has celebrated its 300th patient graduation since launching in September 2007.

Gail Richardson, 50, is the 300th patient to complete the three-month, community-based rehabilitation programme. She was congratulated and presented with a certificate by Sarah Boyack MSP for Lothian, at a ceremony last Friday.

LEAP is the first abstinence programme of its type in Scotland, which operates seven days a week and provides structured support for those who want to conquer addictions to substances like alcohol and drugs.

Gail has tried to beat her alcoholism for much of her adult life, having lived through two violent marriages, a failed business, an eviction, homelessness, depression and drug use.

She explained: “I wasn’t happy so I thought rehab might be the answer. It was like a sudden realisation that I had to do it for myself, no-one else would. I had to take responsibility.”

Since being admitted to LEAP last October, Gail said that her life has been transformed thanks to the project. She says: “It has changed my life. It has given me a real focus. From here I will go into supported accommodation and then I hope I can find a permanent housing solution.”

While on the intensive programme, LEAP participants receive clinical medical and therapeutic help as well as support with accommodation, education, training and employment opportunities.

LEAP is funded by NHS Lothian and three local Alcohol Drug Partnerships and is operated in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and Access to Industry (Transition). The project is currently seeking a new base.

Sarah Boyack MSP said: “Gail’s graduation today marks the fantastic collaborative work achieved by herself and all of those at LEAP. Well done to everyone involved and I wish Gail well for the future.”

Clinical Lead of LEAP, NHS Lothian, Dr David McCartney, said: “I’m really proud to be celebrating our 300th graduate in our first six years. Although LEAP is a challenging and demanding programme, it really does have long term, positive impact on not just our graduates, but their friends and families too. We recognise that multiple strands of support are required to conquer the often complex and deep-rooted causes of addictions, and we do this by offering services such as one-to-one counselling and self-help groups.

“We know that evidence points towards recovery being more likely where support is ongoing which is why we facilitate help with aspects like jobs and training. Recovery is a long term process and we also provide aftercare for up to two years further consolidating the hard work our patients have put in.”

In September, Friends of Leap, aimed at raising funds for the project, was launched.

Drop a glass size in 2013

A campaign encouraging women to ‘Drop a Glass Size’ in 2013 has been launched today by Health Secretary Alex Neil.

As part of the campaign, which also includes a national roadshow, a new ‘drinking mirror’ smart phone app has been developed to show people the shocking affects of regularly drinking too much. The app is free until the end of March and will show users that cutting down a glass size can have a significant affect on the ageing process.

Latest figures show that around 38 per cent of women regularly exceed daily or weekly sensible drinking guidelines, by drinking more than 2 to 3 units a day / 14 units a week. .

The number of alcohol-related deaths among women aged 30-44 has doubled in the last 20 years, and the chronic liver disease and cirrhosis death rate among 30-44 year old women in Scotland has trebled since the mid to late 1980s.

The campaign encourages women to think about the health effects of regularly drinking above the recommended alcohol guidelines. Making small changes, such as alternating alcohol with soft drinks or water and having two alcohol-free days a week, can lead to big health improvements.

Mr Neil said: “Evidence shows us that most people who drink alcohol, particularly at home, have no idea of how much they are actually consuming. This campaign will show people how small changes to their drinking habits can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.

“Scotland has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and much has been done in the last five years to address this. Our alcohol framework outlined a package of over 40 measures to reduce alcohol related harm. We have made considerable progress including banning quantity discounts, restricting promotions on off-sales and working to introduce a Minimum Pricing Bill.

“I have always been clear that there is more that can, and must, be done. Alongside educational efforts such as this campaign, we will work to ensure that people drink less and that we become a healthier Scotland.”

Dr Samantha Robson, GP, added: “Alcohol undoubtedly has an effect on our appearance in the short and long-term. As well as causing bloating and dark circles under your eyes, alcohol dries out skin and can lead to wrinkles and premature aging. Many people forget that alcohol also affects their sleep, which doesn’t do skin any favours. But drinking more than you should over time can have other, more permanent, detrimental effects on your skin and more importantly your overall health.

“Many women don’t think about the longer term effects of drinking or that on average it takes them longer than a man to recover from the damage caused by a big night. But cutting down a glass size, or having a break some nights, the result could make a huge difference to how they look and feel.”

Weight a minute …

Is losing weight your New Year resolution? Here are some faddy diets to avoid, courtesy of the British Dietetic Association:

The BDA Announces the Results of its Annual Top 5 Worst Celebrity Diets to Avoid in the New Year

The annual and eagerly anticipated list of the 5 worst celebrity/fad diets to avoid in the New Year has been issued by the British Dietetic Association (BDA). When Christmas has come and gone, January signals a UK-wide dieting frenzy. People up and down the country will be scouring the internet, book shops and magazines searching for the magical quick fix, or even a long term solution to undo the damage of the festive season or to achieve their best body ever.

However, with so many diet books and celebrity-endorsed fitness DVDs on the market, it can be an absolute nightmare understanding who is giving good nutrition and diet advice and who, quite frankly, needs a good talking to!

The BDA has heard it all: the good, the bad, the weird and the whacky! The press office receives literally hundreds of calls from the media every year on this very subject. Here, in the opinion of the BDA, are the top 5 dodgy celeb diets to avoid in 2013.

5. The 6 Weeks to OMG Diet (new entry)

Celebrity Fans: A-list celebrities, according to the diet’s author Venice A Fulton

What’s it all about?

To be the envy of all your friends you are told to exercise first thing in the morning after drinking black coffee, then sit in a cold bath to encourage the body to burn stored fat as it tries to keep warm and delay breakfast til 10am (which for most people would mean skipping breakfast). Fruit should be ditched, snacks are off limits and whilst your plate is loaded with protein, it doesn’t matter if carbs come from broccoli or cola.

BDA Verdict:

OMG indeed! Six weeks of hell and isolation more like it. Seriously, who has the time, let alone the energy to follow this diet? Guilty of being selective with research rather than a balanced view many people’s routine could not accommodate this and a healthy breakfast and exercise should be encouraged to fit in. The ‘rules’ and competitive dieting element encourage extreme behaviour. Support from friends and family is an important part of weight loss as is taking a long term approach. And what about the other 46 weeks of the year?

4. Alcorexia / Drunkorexia Diet (last year number 2)

Celebrity Fans: It is widely thought that many top models and other red carpet celebrities are fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?

It’s when people eat very few calories during the day/week and ‘save’ all the calories they have not eaten then use them to binge drink alcohol.

For example, if you favour a VLC diet (very low calorie) to follow the Alcorexia Diet, you could be banking around 1,500 calories a day, which then gives you 10,500 calories to drink during the week. This amounts to:

45 pints of lager (based on a single pint being around 230 kcals). With a pint of lager being 2 units, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 90 units.
201 shots of spirits (based on a single shot being around 52 kcals). With a single shot of spirit being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 201 units.
52 alcopops (based on a single alcopop being around 200 kcals). With a single alcopop being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 52 units.
131 glasses of red wine, or 26 bottles (based on a glass of red being around 80 kcals). With a single glass being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 131 units).

To put this in context, the safe weekly alcohol unit intake is 28 units for men and 21 units for women.

BDA Verdict:

Don’t have a few too many! Following a VLC diet alone is madness, as you will most certainly not be getting the calories, vitamins and nutrients your body needs to survive and function. In addition, you will feel weak, tired, have no energy and could become very irritable. Alcohol has little nutrition other than calories. To avoid food in order to ‘bank’ your calories so you can go a use them on alcohol is absolutely stupid and could easily result in alcohol poisoning and even death.

3. ‘Party Girl’ IV Drip Diet (new entry)

Celebrity Fans: Rihanna and Simon Cowell are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?

These kinds of IV drips were originally used to treat severely malnourished and clinically ill patients. However, people who are feeling run down are paying hundreds of pounds to have a bag of solution (usually around 250ml) injected, usually including vitamins B and C, magnesium and calcium.

BDA Verdict:

You must be a bit of a drip to do this. There is very little evidence that this even works in well people. Even if it did, as food and drink contains packages of nutrients then eating food and drinking water or other healthy drinks is preferable to having an IV drip inserted into your body? This also carries possible side effects to such as dizziness, infection, inflammation of veins and, ultimately, anaphylactic shock!

2. The KEN (Ketogenic Enteral Nutrition) Diet (new entry)

Celebrity Fans: It is widely thought that many top models and other celebrities are fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?

The KEN involves eating absolutely nothing at all. Instead, for ten days per cycle a liquid formula is dripped directly into the stomach via a plastic tube that goes up the patient’s nose and is taped on to their face. At the other end of the tube is an electric pump, which works day and night to deliver two litres of the formula over 24 hours. While on the KEN, dieters can go about their lives as normal but must carry the pump and liquid in a bag or backpack and hang it by their bed at night. They are allowed to unhook themselves from the pump for one hour a day and can drink water, tea, coffee (with no milk, sugar or sweeteners) or sugar-free herb teas with the tube in.

BDA Verdict:

You KEN not be serious! It is shocking that people are electing to have naso-gastric (NG) tubes inserted in order to lose weight, usually reserved to sick or chronically ill people. Not only that but one of the side effects is having to take laxatives because this diet provides absolutely no fibre! Nice touch!

1. Dukan Diet (last year number 1)

Celebrity Fans: Carole Middleton, Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?

A complicated four-phase diet that starts off with a ‘no carb/protein only’ approach that promotes rapid weight loss.

BDA Verdict:

Dukan not sustain this! There is little solid science behind this. The diet works on restricting foods, calories and portion control. Cutting out food groups is not advisable. This diet is so confusing, time consuming, very rigid and, in our opinion, so very hard to sustain. Even ex Dr (as of 2012) Dukan himself warns of the associated problems like lack of energy, constipation and bad breath. That sounds lovely!

Speaking about these and other fad diets, Sian Porter, consultant dietician and Spokesperson for the BDA, said:

“As much as we all would love it to be the case, there is no magic solution to losing weight and keeping it off long term. There is no wonder diet you can follow without some associated nutritional or health risk and most are offering a short-term fix to a long term problem. It may be obvious, but if you want to lose weight you need to make healthier choices, eat a nutritionally balanced and varied diet with appropriately sized portions, and be physically active. In a nutshell the solution for most is to, eat fewer calories, make better choices and move a bit more!

“On a serious note, glamorous images of celebrities saturate our daily media in all forms. These celebs have an army of people to help them to keep looking good, which is essential to their livelihood and plenty of money to do whatever they think it takes. You need to remember too, a lot of these images are airbrushed and retouched to give celebrities an unachievable body image that does not exist in real life, yet many aspire to. Some people look at these images and will try anything they think will help them achieve the ‘perfect’ body. If you have some weight you need to lose, then do it in a healthy, enjoyable and sustainable way. In the long term this will achieve the results you are after.”

For more information and tips about healthy weight loss, please visit www.bdaweightwise.com.

Resolve to give the gift of life

Scots are being urged to make it their New Year’s resolution to become a organ donor. The Scottish Government is calling on more Scots to join the NHS Organ Donor Register in 2013 to build on the milestone of having 40 per cent of Scots on the Register – the highest percentage in the UK.

The call is backed by transplant patient Kirsten Harrold, aged 43, from Portobello.

Kirsten was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age 16 but a New Year’s gift of a transplant on January 1, 1990 not only give her back her life, but allowed her to go on to be a mum of four healthy kids.

Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said: “I don’t think there is a better New Year’s resolution than to become a potential life saver by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

“We know the festive season is an important time for people to spend with family and friends, but I’d like people to spare a thought for the Scots who are waiting for an organ, hoping that they get to spend another Christmas with their families and loved ones.

“For them, the most admirable New Year’s resolution would be for more people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register. Stories like Kirsten’s show the incredible impact organ donation can have on not just one person, but a whole family. Simply letting your loved ones know your wishes about organ donation could make all the difference to those desperately waiting.“

Since receiving her kidney transplant, Kirsten has had normal kidney function and is leading a full and busy life, raising her children Peter, 13, Matthew, 8 and twin girls Charis and Gracie, aged five.

Explaining how her illness affected her from a young age, Kirsten explained, “I was unwell for a while before I was diagnosed, feeling really tired, fainting regularly and suffering from headaches. I’d been back and forward to the GP, but by the time I reached 16, I weighed around five stone and was really ill. After having bloods taken, I was admitted to hospital immediately.”

Kirsten suffer from kidney failure as a result of a condition which meant she couldn’t keep salts or minerals in her body. The fainting was due to dehydration and Kirsten spent the week in hospital where she was stabilised, put on medication and told to maintain a low protein diet.

Kirsten said, “Although I looked after myself, when I was around 18, the medication wasn’t enough and I was put on dialysis. Because I was so young, I was quite naïve about it all and didn’t realise what being on dialysis meant, or how serious it was. At this time I was also assessed for going on the transplant list.”

Visiting the hospital three times a week, for up to two and a half hours of dialysis per session, Kirsten’s condition started to take its toll, “I was on dialysis for around 18 months which had huge implications for my family as my dad had to take me to and from the hospital. As a dialysis patient I was quite well, but compared to any normal 18 year old, I was really pretty ill.”

The call to say a suitable kidney had been found came on Hogmanay in 1989 whilst Kirsten, aged 20, was celebrating the turn of the year with friends. Twenty four hours later, on the first of January, Kirsten’s life had been changed forever.

She explained, “Everything went really well with the transplant and my recovery. It was amazing, I didn’t know how ill I was until I felt better.”

In the July of that year, Kirsten met her partner Pete and as the years passed the pair started to look to the future and the possibility of kids.

“Having a child wasn’t a decision we took lightly. By my late twenties, my transplant was well established and there were no problems, but obviously due to the medication I was on and the pressure a pregnancy would put on my body, it takes a bit of thinking through.”

Kirsten attended pre-pregnancy counselling where she found out more about the risks and what would happen with her medication if she became pregnant.

After a textbook pregnancy, Peter was born by caesarean section and Matthew, Kirsten’s second son was born four years later.

As Kirsten’s experience of pregnancy had been so positive, and she was keeping well with healthy creatinine levels, they decided to try for a third baby – and got the news it was twins. They welcomed identical twin girls Charis and Gracie into the world in August 2007.

“Being a mum and being able to do all the mum things like breastfeeding was amazing.”

Almost twenty three years on from her transplant, Kirsten is under no illusion that she wouldn’t be enjoying the life she has if it wasn’t for the decision made by her donor and is still so grateful.

She said, “What do you say to someone that has made that decision? It’s not just my life it has changed, it changed the lives of my family and gave me the chance to have a family of my own. If I’d still been on dialysis, I wouldn’t have been able to sustain four pregnancies or be fit and well to raise small children.

“My transplant allowed me to make decisions and choices that everyone else takes for granted, such as working full-time and having kids. We’re a really active family and my kids wouldn’t be leading the full lives they have if it wasn’t for my transplant and my excellent kidney function.

“It’s not just the recipient that benefits from the NHS Organ Donor Register, it’s everyone around them which is why it’s so important that people sign up to help those waiting. I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to have this life and my family. I always will be.”

Scotland reached the milestone of having 40 per cent of the population on Register earlier this year.

In Scotland, there are around 600 people needing a life-saving transplant.

In October this year, the Scottish Government launched a campaign designed to get people talking about organ donation, to make their wishes known to their loved ones and to join the Register.

Join the NHS Organ Donor Register by visiting the Organ Donation Scotland website.

Think about your drink

The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Harry Burns, has called for people to take care over New Year and drink alcohol responsibly.

Sir Harry said: “Scotland’s Hogmanay festivities are recognised around the world and we want everyone to have fun. If you are planning on drinking over New Year, it is best to take it steady, pace yourself and have a meal beforehand to soak up some of the alcohol. A good tip is to try to have a soft drink or water in between having an alcoholic drink.

“While we have seen a decrease in overall consumption, it is clear that too many people, across all age and demographic groups, are continuing to drink too much all year round and are putting themselves at increased risk of injury and illness.

“Scots drink 20 per cent more than our counterparts in England and Wales. The bottom line is that alcohol misuse is still taking its toll on too many people across Scotland, young and old. I would urge everyone to take care when they are out and about over New Year. Taking a few precautions will ensure that New Year is a night to remember, but for all the right reasons.”

Statistics to smile about

More children in Scotland have brighter smiles, with 67 per cent of primary one children having no obvious sign of tooth decay.

The latest figures from the National Dental Inspection Programme, show that for the first time all NHS boards have met the Scottish Government target for 60 per cent of primary ones to have no obvious signs of tooth decay – an overall improvement across Scotland of 3% since 2009/10.

Minister for Public Health, Michael Matheson said: “It is fantastic news that record numbers of primary one children have no obvious signs of decay, and for the first time, all 14 NHS Boards have exceeded the target – that 60 per cent should have no obvious signs of decay.

“This tremendous progress is the result of our significant investment in children’s dentistry over recent years. It is also tribute to our work with the British Dental Association and the commitment of Scottish dentists, nursery and school staff and parents to deliver the Childsmile programme. However it is extremely important that we continue this work as we know that the best way to improve the nations dental health is in childhood.”

To ensure this progress continues Scotland’s Chief Dental Officer, Margie Taylor, shares some dental health tips as children eat their Christmas selection boxes and sweets. Ms Taylor is encouraging parents to teach their children the importance of good dental hygiene from a young age and keep sweets until mealtimes as much as possible.

She said: “I know that a selection box can put a smile on the face of most children but it’s important that parents keep those smiles healthy. Children develop their oral health habits, good or bad, at a very young age. So it is important that parents remember their healthful habits and practices throughout the festive season to ensure that their children enjoy a lifetime of beautiful smiles.

“I would advise parents to keep sugary snacks to mealtimes in order to help protect against from decay and to avoid all sweet during the last hour before bedtime. Children over three should then brush their teeth with a pea-sized blob of toothpaste – brushing all surfaces of the teeth and gums, working on two teeth at a time. Children under three should only have a smear of toothpaste on their brush.”

Check your GP opening times

With Christmas upon us, NHS Scotland is now reminding the public of the GP surgery closures over New Year:

While GP practices re-open on Thursday after the Christmas break, the NHS Scotland Be Ready for Winter campaign advises people to be aware that many GP surgeries and pharmacies will be closed for two days again at the New Year (Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd January) .

NHS 24’s Medical Director Professor George Crooks, explained: “While NHS Scotland staff have been very busy over the Christmas period, it is important that people remember there is another period of GP practices’ closures over Hogmanay. It’s important that people know the opening times of their local pharmacy too and make use of the next couple of days to re-stock with simple home remedies to ensure they can look after themselves and their family if needed.

“Knowing you have remedies at home to help if a winter illness does strike can make all the difference and if your symptoms worsen while your GP surgery is closed, you should contact NHS 24”

Many GPs will be working hard throughout the festive period supporting local Out of Hours services and Be Ready for Winter has the backing of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Scotland. Dr John Gillies, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, said: “Cold and flu bugs are most prevalent between January and March. Be prepared by stocking your medicine cabinet with suitable over the counter remedies. If you are in a vulnerable group make sure you have requested a flu vaccine from your practice. Remember that your local general practice will not be closed for very long, but if you do need out of hours advice you can look at NHS inform online or contact NHS 24.”

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this winter can be found at www.nhsinform.co.uk or contact NHS inform on 0800 22 44 88. Winter health advice is also available through the NHSScotland digital TV channel, or follow NHS 24 on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates and tips.

The four key steps that Be Ready for Winter is recommending everyone take in preparation for their health this winter are:

Restock your winter medicine cabinet

Many children and adults pick up common winter ailments such as a cold or flu-like illness. These can often be effectively treated at home with readily available medicine. Parents are reminded to restock their medicine cabinet with remedies suitable for children.

Use your local pharmacy

Your local pharmacy is an accessible resource for you and your family. Your pharmacist can offer advice or help if you have run out of any prescribed medication. You can also collect medicine for minor ailments or illnesses.

Make sure you have repeat prescriptions.

If you or someone you care for requires medicines regularly, make sure you order and collect repeat prescriptions in good time to ensure you or your family have enough medicine to last over the Christmas holiday period.

Know when your GP surgery will be open

Your local doctor’s surgery will be open on Monday 31st December and closed for two days on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd January 2013.

Council welcomes Victoria’s temporary re-opening

The city council has welcomed NHS Lothian’s decision to re-open the Royal Victoria Hospital to help meet increasing demand and emergency admissions over winter.

Wards in the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) will be re-opened to provide extra capacity for the expected increase in the number of patients over the next few months. The move comes as the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is facing increasing pressure from emergency admissions, with the situation then being exacerbated by the numbers of delayed discharge patients and other issues including the winter vomiting virus norovirus.

The temporary solution has been welcomed by the city council’s Health and Wellbeing Convener Councillor Ricky Henderson (pictured above), who said: “There is a growing demand for care and support services, especially at this time of year, so the reopening of the Royal Victoria Hospital will help to meet demand. The Council has been working extremely hard with NHS Lothian to address identified shortages and since April we have increased the level of homecare service the Council provides by an extra 4,000 hours per week. We have also made additional investment in our homecare overnight teams, intermediate care service and telehealthcare service to help ensure the essential care required is available for older people in their own homes.”

Melanie Hornett, Nurse Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We have taken a long, hard look at the facilities and resources we have available as part of our winter planning exercises and we know we don’t have the abilities to meet demand. As a result, we have put this temporary solution in place to allow us to serve patients in a timely manner, while increasing our capacity from within.”

The contingency plan was drawn up as part of routine winter planning, which in previous years has seen bed numbers increased on other sites, including Astley Ainslie Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital and Liberton Hospital among others.

Two extra wards will be re-opened over the next few weeks, with the potential to increase as the winter progresses and demand increases as a result of winter weather.

The Royal Victoria Hospital closed in August after the last ward moved on to different sites within NHS Lothian, including the new Royal Victoria Building at the Western General Hospital and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

Looking for an NHS dentist in Edinburgh?

The following dental practices are currently accepting new NHS patients:

9 Dean Bank Street, Stockbridge EH3 5BS 0131 332 5510

4 Inverleith Gardens, Inverleith EH3 5PU 0131 552 4024

4 Howard Place, Canon Mills EH3 5JZ 0131 556 7232

4 Great Stuart Street, West End EH3 6AW 0131 225 3911

264 Morrison Street, Haymarket EH3 8DT 0131 229 6633

212 Morrison Street, Haymarket EH3 8EA 0131 229 7899

42 Earl Grey Street, Tollcross EH3 9BN 0131 221 9535

1D Pennywell Gardens, Muirhouse EH4 4UA 0131 315 2666

3 Quality St, Davidson’s Mains EH4 5BP 0131 336 1785

32 Duart Crescent, Clermiston EH4 7JP 0131 339 7446

65 Ferry Road, Leith EH6 4AQ 0131 554 1791

163 Great Junction Street, Leith EH6 5LG 0131 554 8589

116 Ocean Drive, Leith EH6 6JG 0131 208 2222

120 Ocean Drive, Leith EH6 6JG 0131 555 0376

80/1B Commercial Quay EH6 6LX 0131 553 5959

57 Constitution Street Leith EH6 7AF 0131 555 2020

6 East Hermitage Place, Leith EH6 8AA 0131 554 5028

1 Bellevue Place, Newtown EH7 4BS 0131 556 3240

15 Earlston Place, Meadowbank EH7 5SU 0131 659 5670

Boroughloch Med. Cent, 1 Meadow Place EH9 1JZ 0131 656 4525

59 Ratcliffe Terrace, Newington EH9 1ST 0131 667 4433

39 Mayfield Gardens, Newington EH9 2BX 0131 668 1521

125 Mayfield Road, Newington EH9 3AJ 0131 667 5656

147 Bruntsfield Place EH10 4EB 0131 229 7999

1 Millar Crescent, Morningside EH10 5HN 0131 447 0606

27 Comiston Road, Morningside EH10 6AA 0131 447 2722

3C Washington Lane, Dalry EH11 2HA 0131 337 8272

14 Ardmillan Terrace, Gorgie EH11 2JW 0131 337 2771

296 Gorgie Road, Gorgie EH11 2PP 0131 337 3936

176 St. John’s Road, Corstorphine EH12 8BE 0131 334 2704

9 Bughtlin market, East Craigs EH12 8XP 0131 339 2992

302 Oxgangs Road North EH13 9ND 0131 441 3231

132 Colinton Road, Colinton EH14 1BY 0131 443 4050

1 Hailsland Gardens, Wester Hailes EH14 2QN 0131 453 1151

Westside Plaza, Wester Hailes EH14 2SW 0131 442 4084

38 Balerno High Street EH14 7EH 0131 449 5545

274 Portobello High Street EH15 2AT 0131 669 1193

216 Portobello High Street EH15 2AU 0131 669 2995

310 Portobello High Street EH15 2DA 0131 669 3333

23 Duddingston Park South EH15 3NY 0131 669 9977

198 Peffermill Road, Craigmillar EH16 4DT 0131 661 3424

1 Parkside Terrace, Newington EH16 5BN 0131 667 0500

173 Dalkeith Road, Newington EH16 5BY 0844 387 8333

1 Bellstane, South Queensferry EH30 3PU 0131 319 1879

Information correct on 1 December 2012

High-powered taskforce seeks ways to cut health gap

A new group of experts made up of health professionals and politicians is to seek ways to narrow the health gap between the richest and poorest people in Scotland. The Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities meets for the first time today (Thursday) to examine evidence and to suggest new or better ways to reduce the difference in life expectancy and health among the whole population.

Chaired by Public Health Minister Michael Matheson, the Taskforce includes the Chief Medical Officer, clinicians, health experts, local government representative and other Ministers. The work will build on the Equally Well report of the last Ministerial taskforce in 2008.

Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said:

“While health in Scotland continues to improve and people live longer lives, health inequalities are still worse than in the rest of western Europe. Of all the challenges facing Scotland, the health gap between our richest and poorest communities is among the greatest. Inequality wastes human potential, while reducing inequalities will improve Scotland’s wellbeing, lead to higher productivity and less pressure on public finances.

”The challenge for the Taskforce is to review the effectiveness of current policy, to respond to new information and knowledge about what has worked to narrow inequalities and to hear to community views on the best way ahead.

“While Scotland is rightly seen as a world leader in public health legislation and policy, the main reasons for health inequality are income and power, so addressing these issues will be part of our overall approach. Delivering on this agenda takes leadership at all levels and I am determined to ensure the Scottish Government does what it can in the current political and economic circumstances to narrow the health gap.”

The Taskforce is expected to report in summer 2013.

Membership of the Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities is:

Michael Matheson, Minister for Public Health (Chair)

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Children and Young People

Margaret Burgess, Minister for Housing and Welfare

Angela Constance, Minister for Youth Employment

Derek Mackay, Minister for Local Government and Planning

Roseanna Cunningham, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs

Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change

Sir Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland

Margaret Burns, Chair of NHS Health Scotland

Dr Charles Winstanley, Chair of NHS Chairs Scotland

Andrew Muirhead, Chief Executive, Inspiring Scotland

Professor Carol Tannahill, Director, Glasgow Centre for Population Health

Cllr Peter Johnston, COSLA Spokesperson for Health and Wellbeing