The politics of health
Melissa Salisbury rightly points out that debates about funding the NHSoften comedown to the equitable distribution of healthcare would not be a meaningful public service without careful analysis of resource allocation to other health determinants.
Abstract
The politics of health Abeezar Sarela consultant surgeon Salisbury rightly points out that debates about funding theNHSoften comedown to the equitable distribution of healthcare.1 She is also right in implying that health is more valuable than any other commodity, because health is instrumental to almost everything else. But, in advocating for increased funding, Salisbury overlooks that healthcare is only one among many determinants of health. Over and above NHS services, health has many social determinants: housing, education, nutrition, and so on. To advance the equitable distribution of health, attention to every one of the social determinants of health is required. Simply prioritising healthcare and NHS funding, without careful analysis of resource allocation to other health determinants, would not be a meaningful public service.