Dr Greg Ussher, METRO Charity CEO, responded to the review:
“We welcome the publication today of the Ten Years On Marmot Review. Part of our vision at METRO Charity is for a world where optimum health and wellbeing for all is a collective goal, and we are concerned at the review's findings, confirming our own experiences, that growing health inequalities are having a significant impact on people as we trail behind our European neighbours.
“The review's findings that not only has life expectancy failed to increase across the country for the first time in 100 years but that for the poorest 10% of women it has actually declined, and also that we have seen an increase in the amount of time people spend in poor health is a concerning reflection of our current public health and social care policies and the impact of austerity.
“Sir Michael Marmot, the Institute of Health Equity and The Health Foundation have set out an excellent framework for areas of focus and how we as a society can tackle this. We strongly urge the government and health and social care leaders to act on the findings of this review and take the necessary steps to address the causes of ill health and early death.
“At METRO, we will continue to work with local health and social care leaders and advocate for improved health and support services which will further the wellbeing of the people we support, many of whom live in the deprived areas highlighted in the review or experience health inequalities as a result of their gender, disability, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.”
The executive summary and full report can be downloaded from the Institute of Health Equity website.