Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Dani Smith
Jamie Jenkins, former head of health analysis at the Office for National Statistics, has this week highlighted stark inequalities in Covid-19 deaths in Wales. The ONS analysis shows 44.6 Covid-19 deaths for every 100,000 people in the poorest 20% of communities in Wales whereas in the wealthiest 20% of communities it was 23.3 deaths per 100,00 people, according to Wales Online.
At least part of the reason for this will be that workers living in the poorest areas are more likely to be in jobs that cannot be done from home, more likely to rely on public transport for travel to and from work and more likely to live in cramped and crowded living spaces. This reflects findings published in that Guardian last month which suggests that factors linked to social deprivation are a significant part of the explanation for the prevalence of Covid-19 deaths in BAME communities.
We are clearly not all in this together if your postcode, the colour of your skin and the amount of money you have in the bank can determine whether you survive this crisis or not.
Unfortunately, the disparity is likely to get worse as the lockdown restrictions are eased as those in more highly paid occupations are able to continue to work from home and those in the service sector, retail, hospitality and construction are forced to return to workplaces where social distancing is just not feasible. This is why we need trade unions to establish an all-union health and safety committee in all workplaces and we must demand that no worker will face financial hardship for following government advice to self-isolate if they experience symptoms of Covid-19. Why should workers be faced with a choice between feeding their families and putting their co-workers at risk?
In Wales, the Gwent Valley has been one of the worst affected areas by the coronavirus in the whole of the UK. In heat-map released on March 25th it was shown that the area including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen was the worst affected area outside of London. Blaenau Gwent had the highest percentage of areas in the most deprived 50% in Wales and Newport has the highest proportion of small areas in the most deprived 10% according to the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation in 2019. Yet currently, the narrative around why the area has been so badly effective seems to centre on early testing due to an outbreak amongst staff at the Royal Gwent hospital.
The story of health inequality in Wales is not a novel one. A report on life expectancy and mortality in Wales has found that the life expectancy deprivation gap has been widening since 2015, meaning that your socioeconomic status is increasingly likely to effect your life expectancy.
We in the Socialist Party Wales have long been at the forefront of the fight for decent health services for all. Most recently, battling against the closure of the Royal Glamorgan A&E which serves the Rhonda Cynon Taf area, which covers Tylorstown, Penrhiwceiber and Pen-y-Waun, some of the most deprived areas in Wales. If the closure goes ahead as planned, working class people in these communities will have to travel further away to access vital health services to which they are entitled.
It is clear that Welsh Labour is not willing to stand up for the working class people who it is supposed to represent and demand adequate funding to health and social services which are sorely needed to protect the health and well-being of all members of our community. Working class people in Wales need proper representation who will be willing to fight the Westminster Tories and protect us from deeper cuts that the Tories will try and impose on us in the coming months and years.
