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** 15 August 2022
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** UK
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** Poorest women in England have same ill health at 60 as richest at 76 (#1)
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** Skelmersdale and Ormskirk shops caught selling illegal cigarettes and e-cigarettes after police raid (#2)
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** NHS England reveals six targets for ICSs this winter (#3)
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** International
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** Tobacco companies still fund Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (#4)
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** UK
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** Poorest women in England have same ill health at 60 as richest at 76

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** New research by the Health Foundation has revealed that a 60-year-old woman in England’s poorest areas typically has the same level of illness as a woman 16 years older in the most affluent areas.

The thinktank also found a similarly stark, though narrower, gap in men’s health. At 60, a man living in the most deprived 10% of the country typically has the burden of ill-health experienced by a counterpart in the wealthiest 10% at the age of 70.

The Health Foundation’s analysis of NHS data also shows that women in England’s poorest places are diagnosed with a long-term illness at the age of 40 on average, whereas that does not happen to those in the most prosperous places until 48. Impoverished women spend 43.6 years (52%) of their lifespan, beset by diagnosed illness, while for their best-off peers it is 41 years (46%) of their life cycle. Likewise, the poorest men are expected to spend 42.7 years free of disease, whereas it is much longer among the best-off 10% of the population – 49.2 years. And their life expectancy is 78.3 years, compared with 87.1 for the richest.

The findings underline Britain’s wide and entrenched socio-economic inequalities in health, which the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted. Ministers have promised to make tackling them a priority as part of the commitment to levelling up, but a promised white paper on this issue has been delayed.

The research team, led by Toby Watt, said their findings were likely to be the most accurate published so far because they were based on data detailing patients’ interactions with primary care and hospital services, unlike previous studies, and did not rely on people’s self-reported health.

Watt said: “In human terms, these stark disparities show that at the age of 40, the average woman living in the poorest areas in England is already being treated for her first long-term illness. This condition means discomfort, a worse quality of life and additional visits to the GP, medication or hospital, depending on what it is. At the other end of the spectrum, the average 40-year-old woman will live a further eight years – about 10% of her life – without diminished quality of life through illness.”

He continued: “Throughout the rest of her life the impoverished 40-year-old is more likely to have breathing difficulties from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, experience alcohol problems, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and suffer a heart attack or stroke at younger ages. If she makes it to 80, which is less likely, she will still be receiving treatment for and living with more severe illness than her wealthier counterparts.”

Source: The Guardian, 15 August 2022

See also: The Health Foundation - Quantifying health inequalities in England ([link removed])

Editorial note: The Health Foundation report also states that chronic pain, alcohol problems, COPD and cardiovascular disease account for 83% of the inequality in diagnosed illness between the North East (the region with the highest levels of illness) and the East of England (the region with the lowest levels of illness). Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke is the leading cause of COPD ([link removed]) and major contributor to the development of cardiovascular disease. ([link removed])
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** Skelmersdale and Ormskirk shops caught selling illegal cigarettes and e-cigarettes after police raid

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** Two shops in Lancashire have been caught selling illegal cigarettes and e-cigarettes following a police raid.

Neighbourhood officers carried out inspections on two shops in Ormskirk and Skelmersdale last week. It comes after reports were received that the shops - which haven't been named - were selling counterfeit/illegal cigarettes, as well as e-cigarettes that breach current UK regulations.

Skelmersdale Police said they seized 555 e-cigarettes and 311 illegal/counterfeit cigarettes from the two shops. Trading Standards have now taken over the investigation.

A post on Skelmersdale Police Facebook page said: "Earlier this week, neighbourhood officers teamed up with a team from Trading Standards, to carry out inspections of two shops. One in Ormskirk and one in Skelmersdale.”

"The inspection was carried out, due to intelligence received about these two shops selling counterfeit/illegal cigarettes, as well as e-cigarettes that breach the current regulations surrounding them. Combined, 555 e-cigarettes and 311 illegal/counterfeit cigarettes were seized from the two shops.”

"The offenses committed include: Trade Marks Act 1995 for the counterfeits, the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 for the improperly labelled tobacco products, and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 for the improperly labelled e-liquids.”

Source: Lancashire Live, 12 August 2022
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** NHS England reveals six targets for ICSs this winter
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NHS England has identified six key metrics it will use to monitor the performance of every integrated care systems this winter.

The 2022-23 winter letter includes a broad range of measures to boost capacity across the system through a mix of new hospital beds, increased non-acute capacity and virtual wards and a boost in urgent and emergency call handlers.

NHSE medical director Sir Stephen Powis warned that this year would be especially challenging for the service because it would be “the first winter where we are likely to see combined pressures from covid and flu”.

The six main new key targets for integrated care systems are:
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** 111 call abandonment
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** Mean 999 call answering times
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** Category 2 ambulance response times
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** Average hours lost to ambulance handover delays per day
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** Adult general and acute type 1 bed occupancy (adjusted for void beds)
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** Percentage of beds occupied by patients who no longer meet the criteria to reside
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**
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** Other “core objectives” of the letter are:
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** Increase capacity outside acute trusts, including the scaling up of additional roles in primary care and releasing annual funding to support mental health through the winter.
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** Reduce crowding in A&E departments and targeting the longest waits in ED through improving use of the NHS directory of services, and increasing provision of same day emergency care and acute frailty services.
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** Ensure timely discharge, across acute, mental health, and community settings, by working with social care partners and implementing the 10 best practice interventions through the "100 day challenge".
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** Provide better support for people at home, including the scaling up of virtual wards and additional support for high intensity users with complex needs.
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** Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay also said he had “launched a taskforce to drive up the recruitment of international staff into critical roles across the system, while we recruit and retain more doctors and nurses, so we can continue our work of busting the covid backlogs”.
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Source: HSJ, 12 August 2022

See also: NHS England - Next steps for urgent and emergency care letter and framework ([link removed])
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** International
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** Tobacco companies still fund Russo-British Chamber of Commerce

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** Members of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce are continuing to fund the trade body despite the invasion of Ukraine, as it seeks to restart operations once “bridge-building activities” between the governments begin.

Some members have paid or agreed to pay membership fees for this year and next, enabling the chamber to continue in its “wound down format”.

The chamber ceased facilitating trade between the UK and Russia after Moscow’s invasion. However, it plans to relaunch operations once the “agreement and support for bridge-building activities from the governments of both countries are restored”, its recently filed accounts show.

The chamber’s board and advisers before the invasion spanned royalty, a former energy minister and big business. Its chairman, Roger Munnings, was awarded the order of friendship by President Putin last year.

Members previously listed by the chamber included some of Britain’s biggest companies and professional services firms, such as British American Tobacco (BAT), EY, THG, Burberry and Imperial Brands. The chamber declined to comment on which companies remained members and continued to fund its operations. The membership directory is not listed on its website.

Of those companies previously listed and contacted by The Times only BAT said that it remained a member, however it confirmed it is in the process of exiting its Russia business, where it has taken an almost £1 billion hit.

Source: The Times, 15 August 2022
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