Top doctor to face MSP committee

Dec 19 2012

Scotland's top doctor is to appear before MSPs to answer questions on the country's health inequalities.

Holyrood's Public Audit Committee will be taking evidence on the latest report into the issue from Audit Scotland.

Sir Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, is expected to face questions on various areas covered in the report, including disparities in health between the most and least deprived communities, access to healthcare and how effectively resources are targeted at communities with the greatest needs.

An earlier evidence session will also give committee members the chance to question Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland.

The report, published last week, found that despite general improvements in the health of the nation, deep-seated inequalities remain between the least and most deprived communities.

Men in the most deprived areas typically die 11 years earlier than those in the most affluent, and the gap is 7.5 years for women, the report found.

People in deprived areas also have higher rates of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, drug and alcohol misuse and poor mental health.

While the Scottish Government takes account of deprivation when allocating funds to NHS boards and councils, it is not clear how, at local level, resources are targeted to the areas with the greatest need.

Distribution of primary care services, such as GPs, across Scotland does not fully reflect the higher levels of ill health and wider needs found in deprived areas, or the need for more preventative healthcare, Audit Scotland also found.