It’s unlikely that anybody living on this island missed the furore surrounding the appearance of British National Party’s chairman, Nick Griffin, on the BBC’s Question Time. I will not comment on Mr Griffin’s misguided views and statements, because they have been covered and analysed to death in the broadsheets, the tabloids, the radio waves and the TV screen

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Gobsmacked, bamboozled, annoyed: my emotions on following news stories about the ongoing US healthcare reform debate this week. Then came the onslaught on the UK’s National Health Service by various Americans and Tory MEP, Daniel Hannan. Hannan described the NHS as “a 60 year mistake" and that he "wouldn't wish it on anyone".

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With NHS prescription charges set to rise to £7.20 next month, the British Medical Association called for their abolition (in line with Wales, Scotland and Ireland), describing the current situation as “outdated, iniquitous and detrimental to the health of many patients by acting as a barrier to their taking necessary medication” [1,2]. A BBC poll last year showed that three quarters of adults in the UK also support an end to the charges in England [3].

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In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, first published in 1945, some animals were “more equal than others”. In 2009 the human situation is similar both in the UK and worldwide. Social inequality leads to health inequality in terms of disease causation, treatment and health outcomes [1]. There is growing momentum at governmental and global level to target the so-called social determinants of ill health, which include social gradient, occupation and social support networks [1].

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