Report: More medical data needed on ethnic groups

Health services need more information on ethnic minority groups in Scotland, according to a new report.

Published by the Scottish Ethnicity and Health Research Strategy Working Group, the paper identifies five major priorities, including the recording of the ethnic background of patients on death certificates and NHS records ? something not currently practised in the country.

Dr Laurence Gruer, director of Public Health Science at NHS Health Scotland and chair of the group which produced the report, stated that ancestry, culture, religion and diet are all factors that contribute to wellbeing.

“If our recommendations are followed, we are confident Scotland will be in a much better position both to understand the particular health needs of our ethnic minority groups and to benefit the whole population,” he added.

Meanwhile, making rafts of NHS employees redundant is something that needs to be avoided at all costs, it was claimed last week.