HEALTH IN THE UK

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN HEALTH AND MORBIDITY

Revision suggestion – Try marking all the descriptions on an outline map and annotating it with explanations. Then try doing it again from memory.

NB: Links between illnesses and factors such as age, income, wealth etc are difficult to establish. Remember, just because lots of people in a poor area are ill it doesn’t necessarily mean than they are ill because they are poor or vice versa. It is just a possible reason it does not provide evidence 100%, there could be many other factors involved.

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POLAND AND THE UK

                 CAUSES AND IMPACTS OF MIGRATION

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

·        Poland was admitted to the EU on 1^st April 2004 and with this came the right for any citizen of Poland to move and work freely in other EU countries.

·        Polish people are now the 3^rd largest minority in the UK.

PUSH FACTORS

·        High levels of unemployment – in 2005, 18.5% of those at working age were unemployed in Poland compared to 5.1% in the UK. Annual GDP was £13k in Poland compared to £30k in the UK.

·        Low income for the available jobs, deprived living conditions, poor public services and amenities

PULL FACTORS

·        A typical Polish worker could earn 5 times the sum they could in the UK compared to what they could earn in Poland

·        Plenty of obtainable jobs in the UK due to a skills deficiency

·        The UK was one of only three countries who didn’t put a limit on the number of migrants from A8 countries who could enter the country. (A8 countries are Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia)

·        English is the second language in Poland and so there wasn’t a huge language barrier to overcome

·        Migration to the UK was easy due to cheap flights and travel links

IMPACTS OF EMIGRATION ON POLAND

·        ‘Brain drain’ of skilled workers and loss of entrepreneurial spirit may impact on economic development

·        Some regions may suffer a spiral of deterioration that is difficult to get out of

·        Shortage of workers for typically male jobs such as plumbers and firefighters and builders.

·        Marriage rates fall and family structures break down as the population structure becomes imbalanced

·        However, women have found it easier to find employment with less competition from men.

·        Remittances more than doubled from 2004 to 2008

·        There is less pressure on resources and eturning migrants from the UK bring new skills

·        Despite the labour shortages Poland is the only member of the European Union that has not fallen into a recession and that has continued to grow economically. 

IMPACTS OF IMMIGRATION ON THE UK

·        £2.54bn contributed annually to the UK economy by Eastern Europeans

·        80% of migrants are work-age off-setting the problems of an ageing population

·        Migrant workers helped to prevent inflation and an increase in mortgage costs

·        Migrants are stereotypically hard working, skilled and flexible and take up less desirable jobs or fill gaps in the skilled work-force.

·        Creation of a multicultural society increases tolerance; new local services and good/clothes/music

·        However, much of the money made is sent back home as remittances

·        Increased number of people put pressures on resources such as schools and healthcare

·        Large-scale migration to areas that have not experienced it before have led to tensions and misunderstandings e.g. anti-Polish graffiti and isolated incidents of attacks, especially in N.Ireland.

Discussion point: Do the benefits of migrants to the UK’s ageing economy outweigh the problems?

The UK - An Ageing Population

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE BALANCE BETWEEN POPULATION AND RESOURCES

POPULATION STRUCTURE OF THE UK

·       UK GDP per capita is $38,500 (2012) and population growth rate is 0.8%

·      Stage 4 (low fluctuating) of the DTM as both death rates and birth rates remain low and fluctuate, giving a steady population; typical of many well developed countries.

·      The number of people >65 is increasing (16% in 2011) while 0-14 is decreasing (18% 2011)

·      This is due to the ageing of the 1960s baby boomers combined with improving healthcare.

·      The latest projections are for 5½ million more elderly people in 20 years’ time and the number will have nearly doubled to around 19 million by 2050.

·       The ratio of people of working age to people over 65 could fall from 3.7:1 to 2.1:1 in 2014

IMPACTS OF THIS POPULATION STRUCTURE

·       The Office for Budget Responsibility said that spending on the state pension, social care and healthcare will rise from 14 per cent of Britain's GDP to almost a fifth.

·       Those in work may have to pay higher taxes. This could create lack of encouragement to work and disincentives for firms to invest; therefore there could be a fall in productivity and growth.

·       An ageing population could lead to a shortage of workers and therefore pushing up wages causing wage inflation.

·       Health experts believe the number of people suffering from severe long-term conditions such as cancer and heart disease will grow and could mean a rising demand for nursing care.

·       Although life expectancy is increasing, healthy life expectancy is not increasing as fast, meaning people are ill for longer periods at the end of their life and putting greater strain on healthcare.

·       Statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) have become the single biggest component of the NHS prescribing budget and their cost is likely to increase further. Also the added costs of other drugs, diagnostic tests and surgical procedures are also likely to place pressure on the health service.

·       The ‘grey pound’ and the ‘grey vote’ mean that new businesses can develop (e.g. Saga holidays) and political parties need to pay particular attention to the needs of older people (e.g. David Cameron’s recent pledge to extend the ‘triple lock pension protection’ until 2020 if the Tories are win the 2015 election). This could lead to policies being introduced that benefit older people but perhaps aren’t so good for younger citizens.

·       Older people tend to me more flexible, mature and experienced and they often have a strong work ethic. Nationwide Building Society employs 16% of its workforce over 50 and say customers often prefer to speak to someone more mature and younger members of staff can learn from their older colleagues.

·       Free childcare provided by grandparents is said to be saving families over £7.3billion per year.

STRATEGIES TO BALANCE THE POPULATION STRUCTURE

·       Increased immigration of working age population; A report by the Office for Budget Responsibility found that allowing more than 140,000 immigrants into Britain a year, equivalent to 6million people, would help increase the overall number of people who are in work and improve public finances.

·       An increase in retirement age (the age to gain state pensions) will reduce costs. It was initially planned for the state pension age to rise to 68 for men and women in 2046. However George Osborne recently announced that this would be brought forward to the mid-2030s.

·       Pro natal strategies to be introduced.

·       Businesses can provide jobs more suited to older people to encourage them to retire later and make use of their experiences and expertise.

Discussion point: Can the benefits of an ageing population outweigh the negatives?

Youthful and Ageing Populations

I found these two very comprehensive videos on youtube on the UK (focusing on Devon) and The Gambia. We'll study Uganda in class but the underlying theory is the same and there are many similarities between Uganda and The Gambia in terms of the balance between population and resources.