Better health cannot only be about more hospitals

Victoria’s health system emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic bruised and battered. It was no surprise, then, that health was the central issue during last year’s state election. Labor promised close to $10 billion in spending on large health projects, including new hospitals in West Gippsland and Melbourne’s east.

Buttressing the election debate was the belief that good health is reliant on a well-resourced health system. And that is true. Without access to quality medical care, staying healthy is always going to be a challenge. But is building more hospitals, buying more equipment and hiring more medical staff a silver bullet in terms of creating a healthy society?

As The Age’s new State of Our Health series reveals this week, the inherent advantages or disadvantages of someone’s postcode can also have a dramatic impact on their health, no matter how close or good a hospital may be.

For the first time, the 2021 census asked Australians to disclose whether they had been diagnosed with health conditions including asthma, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and dementia.

The results have revealed a detailed picture of Victoria, exposing a range of health-issue hot spots in cities, towns and regions across the state.

Our series gives a unique insight into where particular health conditions are prevalent and a voice to those afflicted by those ailments. It also talks to a range of experts who expand on the notion that a person’s social and environmental circumstances can have an enormous impact on wellbeing.

It’s not a new idea. An extensive study two years ago by the Australian Council of Social Service and the University of New South Wales found that Australians without paid work are almost twice as likely to report mental health issues as those working full-time. More broadly, those with higher incomes reported good health 60 per cent of the time. The rate for those on lower incomes was only 32 per cent.

The Age’s health series, for the first time, gives us a more granular view of Victoria and helps build a more comprehensive picture of what factors may affect our health. As the series explains, for instance, there are many triggers linked to lower-quality housing that large numbers of people relying on rental accommodation will find difficult or impossible to avoid, such as dampness, gas stoves and poorly ventilated heating. Each one can exacerbate asthma. There is also the rapid spread of fast food outlets in areas such as Melton that experts believe is contributing to the number of people with diabetes.