New BMA president targets health inequalities

The British Medical Association’s (BMA’s) newly-appointed president Sir Michael Marmot has identified combating health inequalities as the key theme for his tenure in the role.

Sir Michael succeeded Professor Averil Mansfield as president at the BMA’s annual conference in Brighton and will remain in the role until July 2011.

A world-renowned expert in health inequalities, the new president spoke out against the rich-poor divide which currently exists in the UK, saying that many disadvantaged people are more likely to be ill or die early as a result of their backgrounds.

Sir Michael said that doctors, who he described as being “in a unique position to speak out for their patients”, should therefore do more to lobby for resources to be spent on improving healthcare.

He added: “I hope as president of the BMA I will be able to help the association with this task.”

The BMA annual conference also featured an address by Dr Hamish Meldrum, who called for the NHS to be regulated and run more efficiently in order to avoid wasting resources and deliver better healthcare outcomes.