Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
1
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Accepted in Part
Comorbidities pose a risk for BAME people to experience coronavirus more severely and, at times, with adverse health outcomes. To tackle comorbidities, primary prevention should be prioritised. We are concerned that the decision to disband Public Health England could result in a gap in the prevention work that is already …
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Comorbidities pose a risk for BAME people to experience coronavirus more severely and, at times, with adverse health outcomes. To tackle comorbidities, primary prevention should be prioritised. We are concerned that the decision to disband Public Health England could result in a gap in the prevention work that is already underway. We recommend that the NHS Health Check, which is currently for 40 to 70-year olds, should be extended to people from a BAME background from the age of 25 years for at least the next two years. We also recommend that the Government’s obesity strategy is culturally appropriate. The Government must ensure that any work undertaken in this area is not lost when Public Health England is disbanded.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that preventing ill-health remains a priority as PHE transitions, with functions under consideration. While claiming its obesity strategy is culturally appropriate with targeted campaigns, it does not commit to extending the NHS Health Check to BAME individuals from age 25, deferring to …
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Government Equalities Office
6
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Accepted in Part
We welcome this step by the Government to record ethnicity on death certificates. However, we are disappointed that this has taken the Government so long. We agree with the Minister that the data would have been helpful, and we do not understand why collecting this data was delayed. This data …
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We welcome this step by the Government to record ethnicity on death certificates. However, we are disappointed that this has taken the Government so long. We agree with the Minister that the data would have been helpful, and we do not understand why collecting this data was delayed. This data will be valuable in assessing the impact of coronavirus on BAME people and will also add value to understanding wider health disparities. We urge the Government to ensure that the ethnicity data collected is disaggregated. We also recommend it is reported on a regular basis and in Unequal impact? Coronavirus and BAME people 49 disaggregated form. In implementing this policy, we urge the Government to consider allowing the informant of a death to report the ethnicity of a deceased individual.
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Government response AI summary
The government is working towards mandatory ethnicity recording on death certificates, amending GP contracts for patient ethnicity data, and publishing weekly vaccination data by ethnicity, but full implementation requires primary legislation and further work on disaggregation standards and informant reporting.
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Government Equalities Office
9
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Accepted in Part
We welcome the Minister’s commitment to consider occupation as part of the work she is doing to take the PHE review forward; it is vital that the Government examines the interaction between ethnicity, occupation and outcomes of coronavirus. We recommend that the Minister for Equalities as part of this work …
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We welcome the Minister’s commitment to consider occupation as part of the work she is doing to take the PHE review forward; it is vital that the Government examines the interaction between ethnicity, occupation and outcomes of coronavirus. We recommend that the Minister for Equalities as part of this work also consider the economic impacts for BAME workers, especially for those who work in shutdown sectors.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that expanding the Minister for Equalities' work to include economic impacts would undermine her current focus, but highlights wider government efforts, including a £4.5 million UKRI research project, that will assess COVID-19's impact on ethnic minority groups across various issues including employment.
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Government Equalities Office
16
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Accepted in Part
The guidance that the Government has produced for those in overcrowded housing is substandard. There was no clear guidance in one place from the Government on how to overcome the practical challenges of living in overcrowded, and in some cases multigenerational, accommodation. This continues to be the case nine months …
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The guidance that the Government has produced for those in overcrowded housing is substandard. There was no clear guidance in one place from the Government on how to overcome the practical challenges of living in overcrowded, and in some cases multigenerational, accommodation. This continues to be the case nine months after the country first entered lockdown. We recommend that the Government should, within the next four weeks, publish clear, culturally competent guidance with practical recommendations on how to self-isolate for people living in overcrowded, and/or multi- generational, accommodation. The Government should liaise with BAME groups on how to cascade this guidance. We further recommend that the Government by the end of summer 2021 produce a strategy to reduce overcrowding due to its poor health impacts.
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Government response AI summary
The government updated existing 'Stay at Home' guidance in January with practical self-isolation steps and works with local groups to cascade messages, but rejects producing a new overcrowding strategy, citing ongoing reviews of HHSRS and DHS and an existing long-term strategy to reduce overcrowding.
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Government Equalities Office