The economy of the North is set to lose more than £11bn because of the physical and mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, a hard hitting report reveals.
The study from the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) finds that existing health inequalities in the North have been massively worsened by the Covid outbreak, impacting on the region’s productivity and increasing problems such as loneliness, financial wellbeing and neglect of children.
Researchers from four Northern universities found that an extra 57.7 people per 100,000 died in the North between March and July compared to the rest of the country, reducing the region’s productivity by £6.86bn. In addition, increased mental health problems in the region could cost up to £5bn in lost productivity.
The report - which comes after previous studies showed the link between poor health among people in the North and the area’s economy - has sparked calls for a wide programme of investment in health services to turn around the historic inequalities affecting many parts of the region.
Prof Clare Bambra, professor of public health at Newcastle University, said: “Our report highlights that we are not all in the pandemic together, with the Northern regions being hardest hit. Health and wealth in the Northern Powerhouse lagged behind the rest of the country even before the Covid pandemic, and over the last year our significant regional inequalities have been exacerbated.
“We need to significantly ‘level up’ the country by providing immediate additional support to local authorities and devolved administrations in the North - and by investing further in public health prevention in the Northern Powerhouse. In this way, we can reduce the inequalities that the pandemic has highlighted and ensure that our regions are better equipped for building back better.”
Hannah Davies, health inequalities lead for the Northern Health Science Alliance, said: “Health inequalities between the North and the rest of England have been growing for over a decade. This report demonstrates the impact that has had on the productivity of the region and how it has led Covid-19 to take a devastating grip on the North.
“We call on the Government to follow the recommendations of the report to put mitigating measures in place, to support public health measures, reduce child poverty, tackle mental health to support North through the pandemic and allow its ambition of levelling up to become an achievable reality.”
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The study by academics at Newcastle, York, Liverpool and Manchester universities found that the North went into the pandemic in a more vulnerable position because the Government’s austerity programme disproportionately affected the Northern Powerhouse.
It found that child health, a key predictor of life-long health and economic productivity, was poor in many parts of the North before the coronavirus outbreak, but adverse trends in poverty, education, employment and mental health for children and young people have been exacerbated since then.
And the report authors warn that the North is likely to be hardest hit again by the second wave of the pandemic, making its findings likely to be a conservative estimate.
The NHSA has called for more resources to be put into the test and trace system in the North and for clinically vulnerable people and deprived communities in the region to be in the first wave of any Covid-19 vaccine.
It also wants increased resources for the NHS and local authorities to improve mental health services, and for a co-ordinated programme to reduce child poverty.
Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “We cannot ignore evidence that Covid-19 has had a vastly disproportionate effect and so it’s essential we prioritise the clinically vulnerable and deprived communities when it comes to the roll-out of the vaccine.
“We fully endorse the recommendations for a locally-led track and trace system. As we go into the second national lockdown, now is the time to get a handle on improving the overly centralised system which has so far under-utilised local government knowledge and expertise.”
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A Government spokesperson said: “We remain determined to level up on health outcomes as well as opportunity, with our £30bn Plan for Jobs helping create, protect and support across the 海角视频.
“We have also committed £170m to help families stay warm and well fed this winter while our Universal Credit increase has resulted in millions of people receiving more money than previously.
“Throughout the pandemic we have worked hand-in-hand with local authorities and over £300m has already been allocated to local authorities in England to help them stop the spread of the virus in their communities.”