Holyrood launches inquiry into Scotland’s health inequalities

Health inequalities in Scotland will be the subject of a Holyrood inquiry, with MSPs looking at their causes and how to tackle them.

The Health, Social Care, and Sport Committee has launched an inquiry into the structural inequalities of Scots’ health, including the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has had.

Results of a previous investigation into health inequalities in Scotland was published by a former health committee in 2015, so the current MSPs will also whether any progress has been made since then.

The committee is calling for evidence to help inform its inquiry, with an appeal for the views of organisations and individuals with direct experience of health inequalities and efforts to tackle them.

Committee convener Gillian Martin said: “The complexities of health inequalities reach deep into almost every aspect of our society and can only be tackled effectively through a concerted effort across national government, local government, and the third sector.

“We want to know what progress, if any, has been made towards tackling these health inequalities in Scotland since 2015 and how best to tackle the structural inequalities which directly impact the health outcomes for our citizens.

“As we launch our call for evidence, we are keen to hear from organisations and individuals across Scotland about any local or regional initiatives that have helped to alleviate health inequalities, both new and historic, and how these examples of best practice could be applied in other parts of the country.

“We also want to know what impact the pandemic has had on Scotland’s health inequalities and the ongoing work to tackle them.

“Health inequalities disadvantage people and impact their chance of living a long and healthy life, and our inquiry is determined to find out how best these inequalities can be overcome.”