New London Assembly data, published today, connects higher levels of deprivation, poorer ratings of GP satisfaction and higher numbers of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) residents to higher rates of COVID-19 deaths.
The analysis was undertaken by the Health Committee since the first wave of the pandemic hit London. To investigate how health services have been impacted for the people they serve, the committee analysed and correlated the experience of GP services data, population diversity, Index of Multiple Deprivation and ONS COVID-19 deaths in London.
GP services are a key part in the COVID-19 vaccine roll out plans across London, a city home to one of the most complex social makeups in the world. The findings are the first to put data behind experiences of London’s healthcare system in the first six months of the pandemic for different ethnicities.
The research has revealed trends where more ethnically diverse and deprived boroughs have lower GP satisfaction and higher COVID-19 deaths. As the boroughs get less diverse and deprived, GP experiences and COVID-19 death rates improve.
The boroughs which have the worst combination of BAME GP satisfaction, highest deprivation and most COVID-19 deaths are:
- Newham
- Haringey
- Tower Hamlets
- Brent
- Barking & Dagenham.
The boroughs which have the best combination of BAME GP satisfaction, lowest deprivation and fewest COVID-19 deaths are:
- Richmond upon Thames
- Kingston upon Thames
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Sutton
- Wandsworth.
Dr Onkar Sahota AM, Chair of the Health Committee, said:
“The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the BAME community has been heart-breaking to witness, and we cannot allow it to continue. All the evidence shows that we’ve suffered a greater impact because we are, on average, more prone to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal disease and poor mental health. We are also more likely to live in overcrowded housing, poorer quality housing, poorer neighbourhoods and work in low-paid, public facing jobs.
“It’s also clear that for those who live in areas of high deprivation, there’s the additional challenge of trying to access treatment from under-funded and under-resourced health services. We know that in those areas, struggling services can lead to poorer recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction of the GPs battling to deliver decent services with too little government funding. All of this has a major impact on patients, and it’s likely to have deterred some in the BAME community from receiving adequate treatment during this pandemic.
“As part of his COVID-19 recovery plans, the Mayor needs to build in proposals to help restore faith in those vital frontline services, and particularly amongst BAME Londoners. Of course, that is very much dependent on central government ensuring those services are properly resourced. It’s therefore vital that local and national government work together to make this a top priority in a time when easy access to good healthcare has never been more important.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The full data can be found in the attached spreadsheet.
- The report informed by the data is found here: Pathways to healthcare: GP experience, COVID-19 and BAME Londoners is attached.
- Dr Onkar Sahota AM, Chair of the Health Committee, is available for interview.
- Find out more about the work of the Health Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
Methodology:
To better understand how access to health services potentially impacted COVID-19 outcomes, GP satisfaction data and nationally published statistics were juxtaposed to identify possible relationships. GP satisfaction data, taken from the GP Patient Survey,[1] was used as a proxy for ‘experience’ of health services. Whilst GPs only represent one part of London health care services, they deal with patients in the first instance and function as a gateway to other NHS services.
The other indicators used were:
- index of Multiple Deprivation: percentage of population living in the most deprived LSOAs in the country, LG Inform.[5]
- percentage of residents who do not speak English ‘well’ or ‘at all’, 2011 Census[4]
- percentage of BAME residents, 2011 Census[3]
- rate of COVID-19 deaths for the 5-month period of March 2020 to July 2020, ONS[2]
In order to create a best and worst performing borough list, each borough is given a ranking score out of 33 for each indicator used. Further, the indicator rankings for BAME GP satisfaction, lowest deprivation and fewest COVID-19 deaths in this press release were combined to evaluate how each borough performs for all indicators combined.
For more details, please contact Louise Young in the Assembly Media Office on 07849 308317. For out of hours media enquiries please call 07849 303 897 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.
[1] GP Patient Survey Q31. Overall, how would you describe your experience of your GP practice?
[2] ONS, Deaths involving COVID-19 by local area and socioeconomic deprivation: deaths occurring between 1 March and 31 July 2020, August 2020
[3] Nomis, Census Statistics, 2011
[4] Nomis, Census Statistics, 2011
[5] LG Inform, IMD - Overall - extent (%) in London