Prevention Matters

A major review of health inequalities in England says the National Health Service must spend much more on preventing illness and focus more attention to giving every child the best start in life.

The Marmot Review calls for NHS spending on preventing illness at a level much higher than the current 4%, with more money going to initiatives such as providing statins and helping people to stop smoking. It says people in England's poorest neighborhoods are likely to die seven years earlier than people in the richest areas - and a greater portion of those shorter lives will be spent unwell. The report estimates up to 202,000 early deaths could be avoided, if everyone in the population enjoyed the same health as university graduates.