Resources

In the 10 Year Health Plan there are notable wins for health inequalities advocates, especially in funding and tackling smoking and obesity, but there are risks of inadvertently increasing inequalities in use of digital tools and widening clinical variation. There are also missed opportunities to work cross-government, provide culturally competent care, and leverage the vast resources of the health and care system to help the poorest areas.

In this powerful personal reflection, HEEC Citizen Panel member Marianne Rodie explores how fatphobia pervades health care, leading to harmful assumptions, misdiagnoses, and discrimination against fat patients. She calls for a shift toward compassionate, bias-free care that prioritises individual health needs over body size.

This practical and reflective guide explores the meaning, value, and challenges of co-production in healthcare, offering tools and real-world insights for working collaboratively with patients and communities. Rooted in lived experience, it provides honest reflections, key questions, and step-by-step suggestions to support meaningful partnership, equity, and transformation within NHS services.

As the NHS looks ahead to the next decade, what truly matters to the people who rely on it every day? This blog shares reflections from the Health Equity Evidence Centre’s Citizen Panel, offering honest, hopeful perspectives on how the NHS can evolve to meet future challenges with compassion, fairness, and transparency.

17.1 million people in England are estimated to be living with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition. This evidence brief explores what health and care interventions work to improve outcomes for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and what approaches are most effective in addressing the inequalities they face.

The additional £899m investment in general practice is a welcome step forward, and its positive impact should not be underestimated. The increase in global sum funding is a strong move, reinforcing the importance of capitation as a foundation for an equitable funding system. However, the Carr-Hill formula, which underpins funding allocation, reflects activity rather than need. The additional investment within the current funding streams shows that simply increasing investment without contract reform risks reinforcing existing funding inequalities.

This blog explores the vital role of Sure Start in improving children’s physical health, social functioning, and neurodevelopmental health – support eroded by austerity-driven cuts. It presents findings from the first systematic review of Sure Start’s health impacts, showing how early intervention reduced hospital admissions, childhood obesity, and improved school readiness. The evidence is clear: restoring Sure Start is key to tackling health inequities and giving every child a fair start in life.

In 2023, 6,669 general practices received £10.2 billion in NHS funding across England, increasing to £11 billion with COVID-related and Primary Care Network (PCN) payments. Almost 10% of this—£870 million—was allocated to prescribing- and dispensing-related payments, supporting 944 dispensing practices serving 9.5 million patients (£625 million) and 5,537 non-dispensing practices covering 53 million patients (£245 million).

Return to work interventions seek to address long-term work or sickness absence, but whether they achieve equitable outcomes is unclear. This brief reviews the evidence to identify health and care interventions that support people from disadvantaged backgrounds return to employment.