of disease.' explains how health can be won.
Most people associate ealth with hospitals, doc tors, nurses and drugs but the WHO definition correctly gives weight to social and economic factors.
In Britain 90 per cent of the reduction of child deaths between 1850-1975 attributed whooping cough, scarlet fever measles took place before the advent of any effective immunisation or anti-biotic - The Black Report.
therapy. This was because intection was the major cais century. Public healin cause of death until measures, particularly sanitation and improved living standards were responsible for the dramatic decrease.
Inequalities in Health: the Black Report, demonstrated that even today a child of an unskilled worker is four or five times as likely to die before the age of one year than a child of a professional worker.
A superior social system means better health. For example, Cuba is not only in the lead of all other Latin Paraguay:
Guatemala Peru Chile Colombia Venezuela Cuba American countries in relation to its infant mortality rate (19.3 deaths per 100 live births: see Table 1) but is lower than the castern district of Glasgow (19.6).
Most medical experts now agree that changes in the way live would significantly reduce the incidence of major diseases in Britain; particularly cardiovascular discase: chronic bronchitis; cancer; diabetes; infection; liver and gastrointestinal disease; and occupational diseases.
But the National Health Service does not reflect this understanding. When the NHS began in 1948 responsibility for health was divided between local authorities which were responsible for in the healthworkers battle with the Tories. MARIE LOUISE IRVINE, a Glasgow doctor, housing, water town planning munity health, and the NHS which was hospital centred.
The NHS took most of the resources, despite success of public measures in health.
The reason and disproportionate allocation was that then, as now, the medical profession had too much in 'CLASS differences in mortality are constant feature of the human life span' how resources are allocated in our health services.
The Association agreed to sup port Nye Bevan's NHS bill only if the medical profession rather than the elected Local authorities could control it.
There was 'a discussion between medical profession were opposed to government control in any shape or form and the local government who were anxious to keep their existing powers and if possible extend them.
The consultants The NHS was to be run by appointed Table 1. Infant mortality (rate per 1000 live births)
94.3 80.7 74.4 52.5 dominated by the medical and allied professions, but inappropriate to our health needs.
Preventative and community medicine receiving only 5-8 percent of the health budget.
Yet it is in these areas that the future of health care lies. Table 2 clearly demonstrates that serious cervical programmes are pursued as in Grampian and Tayside Regions, the death rate cervical cancer reduced. Once cancer (a cancer of the womb) is established these is little that medical science can do.
For progress in health care we have to resolve the supply, and comthe health promoting for this deciding La Medical bitter the who local contradiction built into the NHS. The form of the NHS associations is a compromise working class and class interests. "socialist' won. sal, comprehensive and (still largely) free; yet it is conboards, trolled by the ruling class mainly through the channel of the medical profession.
By defending the NHS we defend the basis for and possibility table, democratic health promoting system.
That is why it is wrong to make an artificial seperation between defending the health service and fighting for a better one. The unity of the health workers and the labour suffered fighting for the 12 per cent screening has occured.
cervical is a model for organising a campaign of action against cuts and privatisation.
Such a campaign would not be purely "defensive'. In raising the issues of pay and WAL between ruling It in being univer- Scotland BONEYSICA of an accoun and deficiencies vice.
movement in youth.
'THAT improvement in health is likely to come in the future as in the past from the modification of the conditions which led to disease, rather than from intervention in the mechanism of the disease after it The Black Report. TO FOR