The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has called on the UK government to set out how its health mission will tackle avoidable illness, as new data reveals widespread concern among doctors about the growing impact of health inequalities.
Nearly 90% of respondents to the RCP’s recent member snapshot survey reported they were concerned about the impact of health inequalities on their patients, while 46% said that at least a half of their workload was due to illnesses linked to social and economic factors – such as poor housing, education, and employment.
With a nearly 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas of England, the new figures highlight the urgent need for government action to improve the health of the nation, prevent avoidable illness and reduce pressure on the wider NHS.
Conducted in February 2025, the snapshot survey found that that 89% said they were concerned about the impact of health inequalities on their patients while 72% reported seeing more patients in the past three months with illnesses caused or worsened by wider social determinants of health – things like poor quality housing, education, employment (including how much money someone has), air pollution and access to transport
46% said that at least half of their workload is due to illnesses linked to social factors
The RCP, which convenes the Inequalities in Health Alliance, has been calling for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities since 2020, arguing that tackling the factors that make people sick in the first place – like housing, food quality and employment, often called the ‘social determinants of health’ – is vital to reducing avoidable demand on the NHS.
In opposition, the Labour party ‘health mission’ promised a mission delivery board to coordinate action on these social determinants of health across government departments.
The RCP says that clarity is now urgently needed: how will the health mission board deliver the government’s manifesto commitments to tackle the social determinants of health and halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived regions in England?
Dr John Dean, RCP clinical vice president, said:
‘The UK government came into office promising bold action on the things that make us ill in the first place. Now it must set out the detail of its health mission and how the mission delivery board will tackle the root causes of ill-health such as poor housing, employment, tobacco, obesity and air quality.
‘With over 2.5 million more people in England projected to be living with a major illness by 2040, there is no time to waste. We need assurances that improving health and tackling health inequalities remain a priority.
‘Everything from the places we live to the food we eat affects our health. Government must use its health mission delivery board to deliver a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities and address the social determinants of health.’
