Letter

Cheer up!

Having read Steve Iliffe’s article ‘Pioneering or engineering’? (website, issue 38) I applaud many of his very accurate and bold comments. As someone working in NHS public health, I am angry at the snobbery of those in positions of power. Policy documents, targets and planning strategies all focus on the health inequalities which are emphasized again and again.

The recent Barnardo’s campaign about babies living in ‘poverty’ shows the negative and depressing images which are now common. What about making people feel better, brightening their lives, making them feel they are doing a good job in difficult times? How would you feel, being told that you face a higher risk of death because you live in poverty? ‘Well, what’s the point then? And thanks for saying I live in poverty’.

The key is lifting spirits through humour, engaging people through praise and action. I have found this to be effective in many aspects of my work. Let’s stop going on about inequalities, deprivation and poverty and instead speak of pride, praise and public teamwork from the bottom to the top.