Unequal health

The scandal of our times

Danny Dorling, Policy Press, 400 pages, paperback, £24.99

Sixty years after its establishment, the NHS faces an unprecedented attack. Danny Dorling’s latest book is a timely reminder of why public healthcare is worth fighting for.

Health inequalities, Dorling argues, are the scandal of our times. In the USA and the UK these inequalities have now reached an extent not seen for over a century. Although most peoples’ health is much better than it used to be, the gaps in life expectancy between the rich and poor now surpass the worst measures over the last hundred years.

In almost all other affluent countries, inequalities in health are lower and people live longer.

Over nine chapters, Dorling updates a wide selection of his writings on health to create an accessible collection that is both contemporary and authoritative.

Sebastian Kraemer from the Whittington Hospital in London describes Dorling as “a meticulous scholar who talks personally and directly to the reader rather than to other academics”.

As health services across the country are facing widespread cuts, the book is a call for immediate action to reduce these inequalities.

This review was contributed by the Bookmarks socialist bookshop. Order online at www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk