'Use taxes to help poor to live a healthy life'

STATES policies need to focus on giving everybody fair access to health resources and reducing poverty, the director of public health has said.

In his annual Medical Officer of Health report, Dr Stephen Bridgman, pictured, said it was important to tackle poverty and health equity – the view that everyone has a fair opportunity to their health potential – now because it would have major benefits for the island in the future.

He claimed local research had shown a significant minority of islanders did not have fair access to health resources and that was partly down to government policies.

In the report he said income was a key factor as to why people did not have fair access to health and a review of the tax and benefit system could solve this.

Figures also suggested about 10,000 people – 16% of the population – were estimated to be poor with a low income.