Chief Medical Officer
Department of Health
79 Whitehall
Richmond House
London SW1A 2NS
27 March 2016
Dear Professor Dame Sally C DaviesAnnual Report – “Health of the 49%: Men”
We welcome your 2014 Annual Report published in December 2015 entitled “Health of the 51%: Women” and its gendered approach to health.
We fully support the contents of the letter of 6 January 2016 issued by the Chief Executive of the Men’s Health Forum. We agree with the range of issues raised by the Men’s Health Forum within their letter.
We are writing to express our disappointment that you were unable to agree to Mr Tod’s reasonable proposal to take a similar approach in your 2015 Annual Report to raise awareness about health issues that particularly or predominantly affect men. We were also disappointed that you were unable to give any clear commitment, including naming a particular year, to producing any such Annual Report in the future.
A “Health of the 49%: Men” report would have the merits both of demonstrating consistency in your approach as well as directing professional focus to the many health issues that affect not only men but their families and wider community.