Doctors urge government to fight poverty after rise in patients with Victorian diseases

Doctors have reported a rise in the number of patients with Victorian diseases such as scabies, as the Royal College of Physicians urged the government to do more to fight poverty.

The survey of 882 doctors found 89% were concerned about the impact of health inequalities on their patients, while 72% had seen more patients in the past three months with illnesses related to poor-quality housing, air pollution and access to transport.

The Royal College of Physicians found 46% of respondents said that at least half of their workload involved illnesses linked to social factors.

One doctor said that they had seen patients with two Victorian skin diseases, erysipelas and scabies, over the past three months. Another said they were seeing more people “with poor nutritional status due to poverty”, eventually leading to “prolonged and impaired recovery from acute illnesses”.

Several patients had contracted hypothermia. One doctor said it was due to the patient not being able to afford heating at home.

The Royal College of Physicians has called on the government to set out how its health mission will address these illnesses.

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Source: The Guardian, 3 April 2025