Covid death rate 25 per cent higher in Greater Manchester, says report

Long-standing health inequalities, economic deprivation and social disparities - as well as government bungling - all blamed in scathing new study

( )

The coronavirus death rate in Greater Manchester has been 25 per cent higher than the rest of England, new research has found.

Long-standing health inequalities, high levels of economic deprivation and wide social disparities have meant the region has suffered especially acutely during the pandemic, the study by Professor Sir Michael Marmot says.

But it also pins the blame on government bungling, suggesting that decisions over both the implementation and ending of national lockdowns were driven by the needs of London and the south-east.

“The timing of the containment measures implemented in England did not align well with the trajectory of the pandemic in the city region,” Sir Michael writes.

Another factor – the sheer interconnectedness of so many different towns within Greater Manchester – has also led to greater spread, he suggests.

So badly has the area fared that life expectancy in the wider north-west fell by 1.6 years for men and 1.2 years for women in 2020.

The findings come after the acclaimed epidemiologist – one of the world’s leading experts on health inequalities – was asked to assess how Covid-19 had impacted on the region by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

In particular, he was asked to focus on how the area might build back from the pandemic and what could be done to improved future outcomes.

Among the recommendations made are for the government to reverse health spending cuts made during a decade of austerity, while also addressing housing , transport and educational disparities which have all been shown to result in health inequalities.

Extra resources should be pumped into or early years care and improving work place health, the study adds.

“While England has experienced high Covid-19 mortality rates compared with other countries, the rate in Greater Manchester has been even higher than the average in England,” the report states. “Analysis shows that rates of mortality...are 25 per cent higher than in England as a whole.”

It goes on: “The kind of recommendations that I make are not just about health care or not just about public health.

“They're about housing and transport and community development and jobs and schools. It cuts across the board. And we need to spend to improve the health and wellbeing for future generations as well as for now."

Responding to the report, Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the pandemic had “brutally exposed just how unequal England actually is".

He said: “People have lived parallel lives over the last 18 months. People in low-paid, insecure work have often had little choice in their level of exposure to Covid - and the risk of getting it and bringing it back home to those they live with.

"Levelling up needs to start in the communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.”