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Welfare reforms may drive up illness rates

ILLNESS could increase as a result of the UK Government's welfare reforms, NHS Highland has warned.

It predicts an increase in adults and children requiring inpatient care and a significant rise in the number of people visiting GPs or contacting NHS 24.

NHS Highland's director of public mealth, Margaret Somerville, also warned the UK Government's Welfare Reform Act represents a "significant but unquantifiable area of financial risk" to the health board.

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