Health and Social Care Secretary has announced plans for a Men's Health
Strategy at a Men's Health Summit held in partnership with
Movember, hosted by Arsenal and the Premier League.
The strategy will consider how to prevent and tackle the biggest
health problems affecting men of all ages, which could include
cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer and testicular cancer, as
well as mental health and suicide prevention. It will form a key
part of the Government's 10 Year Health Plan to fix the NHS
.
A call for evidence on the strategy will seek views on what is
working and what more needs to be done to close the life
expectancy gap between men and women.
Speaking at Arsenal Football Club, Mr Streeting spoke to
campaigners, including the UK Men's Sheds Association,
Prostate Cancer UK and the African Advocacy Foundation, to hear
directly about the obstacles currently facing men's health.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
It can be hard to be a young man in today's society, particularly
for boys from backgrounds like mine.
We're seeing mental ill-health on the rise, and the shocking fact
that suicide is the biggest killer for men under the age of 50.
Preventable killers like heart disease and prostate cancer are
being caught far too late.
Just as we are determined to end the injustices women face in
healthcare, we won't shy away from the need to focus on men's
health too. This government will publish a men's health strategy
to tackle these problems head on.
I am pleased to have brought together leading campaigners,
experts, and the Premier League to gather ideas and inform our
strategy and our Ten Year Plan.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in England;
significantly more men die early from cardiovascular disease
compared to women. On average, men die nearly four years earlier
than women and are disproportionally affected by a number of
health conditions including some cancers, heart disease and type
2 diabetes.
Men tend to seek help for their mental health less than women.
They are also more likely to die by suicide, with men accounting
for three of four suicides. There are also significant health
inequalities across the country, with those in the most deprived
areas in England expected to live almost 10 years less than those
in the least deprived.
As well as the call for evidence, all men are encouraged to go to
the Change NHS
online portal to give their views on how to build an NHS fit
for the future through our 10 Year Health Plan. The
UK National Screening Committee is actively looking at all the
evidence for prostate cancer screening programmes including
targeted approaches for those at higher risk such as people with
a family history. This will include looking at the appropriate
ages for any screening programme, and ensuring that any programme
is evidence-led.
The strategy will be unveiled next year and the call for evidence
will be launched in due course.
Michelle Terry, CEO of Movember, said:
Today is a significant step forward in transforming the face of
men's health. We are delighted that the UK government has
committed to a men's health strategy.
When we improve men's health, we know that the benefits can
ripple through families, communities, societies and the economy.
This will transform the lives of men, but also their wives,
mothers, sisters, partners, mates, neighbours, children, teachers
and doctors.
We stand ready to work with other leaders in men's health and the
Secretary of State to make the men's health strategy a reality
that brings real change to lives up and down the country.
