Local MP urges swift action following Public Health England review

Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has reacted to the ‘Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19’ review published yesterday (Tuesday) by Public Health England.

The review was a descriptive look at surveillance data on disparities in the risk and outcomes from COVID-19.

The review looked at different factors including:

age and sex

where people live

deprivation

ethnicity

people’s occupation

care home residence

The review’s findings are based on the latest surveillance data available to PHE and from links to wider health data sets.

The findings will help improve understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic and will help guide the future public health response to it.

Mr McMahon has urged swift Government action.

He said: "We already knew that this disease did not treat us as equals, but now we know that the mortality rate in the most deprived areas – like Oldham – is double that of the least deprived areas in the country.

“The survival rate in confirmed COVID cases in the most deprived areas are lower and these poor outcomes remain after adjusting for ethnicity too.

"The lack of investment in our deprived towns is a public health crisis, this is something that we can change.

"And we must change it if we care about fairness as I know so many of people in Oldham do.

“The truth is that if you’re a taxi driver living in Oldham and of Bangladeshi background you are several times more likely to be at risk than I am, and that’s not right.

“If fighting diseases like this is something that we’re going to have to get used to in this country, we need to rapidly address the inequalities that affect our communities.

"Government can’t afford to wait any longer to mitigate the risks that our BAME communities face so that no more lives are lost.”

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