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Scotland's Chief Medical Officer was yesterday urging care services north of the border to let people become partners in improving their own health and wellbeing.

In his fifth Annual Report, Dr Harry Burns discusses the merits of a change in focus to address the widening gap between the health of the rich and poor.

Helping people to help themselves is a key theme of the report which asserts that people are healthier when they are given the skills and knowledge to take control of their own lives.

Dr Burns launched the report from the Bridgeton Community Learning Centre (BCLC) alongside Rosie Robertson, the centre's manager, who features in this year's report.

BCLC provides the local community with facilities and resources for education, training, sport, recreation and social interaction.

Dr Burns said:

"Although life expectancy has continued to improve in Scotland, other Western European countries have experienced faster increases in the health of their populations.

"Most of our closest European neighbours are reporting longer life expectancy at birth for both men and women in Scotland. However wealthier Scots continue to experience faster growth in life expectancy than their neighbours in poorer areas and in the past year, these trends have continued.

"At a time of economic uncertainty, threats to the health of disadvantaged individuals increase, that is why we must reconsider the methods we have been using to improve health. By concentrating too strongly on the treatment of disease, we might be missing an opportunity to build health more effectively.

"Equally Well, the Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities has shifted the emphasis of our approach from dealing with the consequences of health inequalities to tackling the underlying causes such as poverty, employment, support for families and improving physical and social environments.

"I would like to see this go even further. Only when people become truly involved in decisions about their own health will they be inspired to improve it. Nobody should be condemned to a life of ill health because of where they live or their family's background. Poor health is not inevitable and we should not accept it."

Dr Burn's report also discusses the role of employers in promoting good health, the importance of employment and Scotland's ongoing battle with drug abuse.

In addition, the report reviews the response from the NHS Scotland to both the H1N1 outbreak and the anthrax infection in drug users north of the border paying tribute to the work of all those involved.

Centre Manager Rosie Robertson said:

"If we concentrate on problems, we'll create them. If we visualise and focus on how our environment can be, then we create a healthier mindset which in turn improves our wellbeing.

"We are not apathetic people who are to blame for our environment. We are community assets, able to contribute to the improvement of ourselves and our areas.

"We are no different from those in more affluent areas, we just swim in a rougher part of the river."

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