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Shocking figures show that scores of people who have been admitted to IRH have been suffering from the extreme medical conditions — which are all directly linked to poverty.
A total of 170 cases of rickets — a bone disease found mainly in children and caused by a vitamin deficiency — have been recorded at the hospital in the last five years.
Meanwhile, 52 people have been hospitalised with ‘extreme’ malnutrition and a number of instances of scurvy, caused by a dangerous lack of fruit and veg, have also been identified.
Campaigners now calling for urgent action have warned that the recorded figures — obtained by Councillor Martin McCluskey through freedom of information legislation — are ‘just the tip of the iceberg’ and show the impact of rising levels deprivation in Inverclyde.
More than 2,600 children have been officially recognised as living in poverty in the district.
GP Dr Jen Dooley says that she and her colleagues are seeing more and more patients suffering through lack of healthy food.
Dr Dooley, of Port Glasgow Medical Centre, told the Telegraph: “As a GP, I see how poor nutrition impacts the patients I am looking after.
“Poor nutrition has serious adverse effects on physical health conditions as well as mental health conditions.
“Poverty directly affects how healthily people can eat, and with one in four children in Inverclyde, more in some areas, living in relative poverty, we are seeing the impact of unhealthy nutrition in our practices every day.”
As well as being in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, Inverclyde also has the poorest area in Scotland — Greenock town centre and the east end.
Rickets — called osteomalacia in adults — results from a deficiency in vitamin D, causing soft bones, severe pain, bow legs and dental problems.
Councillor McCluskey, who sits on the health board and has campaigned to save NHS services in Inverclyde, described the data he has uncovered as ‘truly shocking’.
He said: “Malnutrition, rickets and scurvy are diseases of the Victorian era that should have been consigned to our past.
“The fact that more than 200 people have been treated for them at IRH over the past five years is truly shocking and demonstrates the poverty that exists in our community.
“We know this will just be the tip of the iceberg.
“Poverty itself is a disease that needs to be stamped out in our community.
“With the cost-of-living crisis biting, too many people are making the choice to skip meals and are struggling to make ends meet.
“In 2023, we should not have anyone in our community suffering from any of these Victorian illnesses.”
Councillor McCluskey — who is standing for Labour in next year’s general election — added: “They are all preventable by lifting people out of poverty.
“Tackling this by growing our economy and making sure people have well paid and secure jobs will be one of my priorities if I am elected as our area’s MP.
“Over a decade of the Tories and the SNP have only seen poverty increase in our country. It’s time for change.”
Dr Dooley, who is part of a group of family doctors raising awareness of poverty and health inequality, says that there are many initiatives in Iververclyde aiming to improve people’s health.
But she insists that financial support for these grassroots projects needs to be urgently ramped up.
Dr Dooley said: “For example, the Thrive Under Five project is a pilot being run in Port Glasgow which supports families to maximise their income, eat healthily and increase their physical activity.
“These projects rely on family support workers to support our most vulnerable families to make healthy food choices.
“These services and other initiatives urgently need more funding to ensure that health inequalities do not widen further, especially during this cost-of-living crisis.”
