The United Kingdom government’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty’s second annual report presents an analysis of the health and wellbeing of England’s coastal communities.
The central argument of the report is that the health challenges of coastal towns, cities and other communities are serious, and their drivers are more similar than their nearest inland neighbour. This means a national strategy to address the repeated problems of health in coastal communities is needed in addition to local action. If we do not tackle the health problems of coastal communities vigorously and systematically there will be a long tail of preventable ill health which will get worse as current populations age.
There are many reasons for poor health outcomes in coastal communities. The pleasant environment attracts older, retired citizens to settle, who inevitably have more and increasing health problems. An oversupply of guest housing has led to Houses of Multiple Occupation which lead to concentrations of deprivation and ill health. The sea is a benefit but also a barrier: attracting NHS and social care staff to peripheral areas is harder, catchment areas for health services
are artificially foreshortened and transport is often limited, in turn limiting job
opportunities. Many coastal communities were created around a single industry such as previous versions of tourism, or fishing, or port work that have since moved on, meaning work can often be scarce or seasonal.
The report will highlight the significant strengths in coastal communities along with many exemplary and impressive examples of local work taking place to support the health of local citizens. They should not however, in my view, face the considerable health challenges alone. The vulnerability of these
communities is not a new revelation, and the economic problems they face have been highlighted in several recent reports including in relation to the impact of
COVID-19.
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