200 members of the public attended ‘How Inequality Kills – Margins, the Marginalised and Public Health’, the latest in the series of RCSI MyHealth lectures, which took place at RCSI’s St Stephen’s Green campus yesterday.

Dr David Ansell - social epidemiologist, health activist, and author of two books, County: Life, Death and Politics at Chicago’s Public Hospital, and The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills gave the keynote address on the evening.

In his speech, he addressed the theme of healthcare inequality, drawing from his experience as a physician and his role as senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Centre, Chicago,

Dr Ansell highlighted how a two-tier health system furthers the divide between those who can afford private healthcare and those who cannot, and how structural pay reform can untangle the equities that exist in a mixed public and private system.

The lecture was then opened to the floor, where the audience had an opportunity to ask Dr Ansell questions and to share their views on the topic, chaired by The Irish Times columnist, Fintan O’Toole.

The RCSI MyHealth lecture series is open to the public and aimed at those who want to learn more about common illnesses and health-related topics, and how they can improve their personal health and wellbeing.