Deprived coastal towns need redesign, says Whitty

England's chief medical officer has said that seaside towns need to be redesigned for the modern age to tackle deprivation and health inequalities.

Prof Chris Whitty said that towns like Blackpool, Skegness and Hastings have ‘really significant deprivation’ and more attention must be given to ‘how we can re-invent them for the new era’.

Earlier in the year, Whitty published a report that highlighted the ‘overlooked’ issues in coastal towns, which have higher rates of poor health and lower life expectancies, and are also more likely to have poor housing and transport connections.

Whitty also warned that it can be difficult to attract healthcare staff to coastal towns, while there were limited educational and employment opportunities and has encouraged the government and NHS to focus medical training colleges in deprived towns.