The Government needs to channel funding to the NHS in deprived areas and follow-through on Levelling Up to help fight a "twindemic", top academics in Newcastle have warned.
On the back of research highlighting again how deaths due to Covid have disproportionately hit deprived areas - both in the UK and around the world - Dr Vic McGowan and Prof Clare Bambra from Newcastle University have warned that those in power here need to learn lessons ahead of a potentially devastating winter. This comes as top medics warn of the risk of a worse-than-usual flu season combining with a Covid resurgence.
This scenario - the so-called "twindemic" - could leave the NHS under extreme pressure, and this is likely to again hit deprived areas including in the North East worse than elsewhere. Prof Bambra highlighted how the prevalence of health issues like diabetes, COPD and heart disease in our region - and the near 40% of children growing up in poverty here - mean we're more vulnerable than elsewhere to health crises.
