New local health chief vows to tackle Haringey's health divide

The following is extracted from the full story published by the Haringey Advertiser:

Haringey’s new health chief has described her shock at the gulf in equality across the borough as she prepares to take over the reins from NHS colleagues under government reforms.

Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy said that the chasm between the west and east of the borough in factors such as life expectancy was "unfair and completely unacceptable" and explained how her childhood in apartheid-tom South Africa had helped fuel a desire to redress such imbalances.

As part of government proposals for reforms to the NBS and health services, local councils may soon have direct responsibility for public health issues for the first time in almost 40 years.

She and her team will be based at River Park House in Wood Green and will work alongside the Haringey team of North Central London NBS - created out of the merger of primary care trusts from Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Camden and Islington.

Though relishing the challenge, the 46-year old admitted she faces an uphill struggle to turn things around in a borough where a bus journey from one side to the other exposes the disparity between exceptional wealth and abject poverty.

"To have a nine-year gap in one borough is remarkable and unfair - completely unacceptable. And it's very difficult to crack."

Dr de Gruchy said the fact Haringey has no hospital within its. borders was "not a problem" and suggested people needed to begin to look elsewhere for their health services other than hospitals.

Previously a working doctor specialising in psychiatry, Dr de Gruchy said she had already forged strong links with GPs working in Haringey to reflect the newly heightened role of healthcare profession also under the reforms.

She is fiercely supportive of the shift in this direction because GPs see patients "day-in-day-out and know exactly wha1 the difficulties are".