Government takes ‘snapshot’ of England’s health (22 June)
A picture of English health, prepared for each local council, has been published by Public Health Minister Caroline Flint.
The health profiles provide information on a range of issues including life expectancy and smoking. They are designed to help local councils and the NHS decide where to target resources to tackle health inequalities in their local area.
The profiles show that health is improving, but there continues to be a wide variation in results, even in the healthiest areas.
For example, the profiles show:
- Chiltern has the lowest number of deaths from smoking with 147 people per 100,000, Of course this still means that 113 people in Chiltern each year die from smoking.
- Deaths from cancer continue to fall for those under 75.The local authority with the smallest numbers dying from cancer is Kensington and Chelsea with 81 deaths per 100,000 people.
- Teesdale has the most physically active people with 17 per cent doing some exercise for 20 days in the past four weeks.
- St Albans has 85 per 100,000 people admitted to hospital with alcohol-related problems - the fewest in the country.
The health profiles can help local government and the NHS decide how and where to target resources to tackle health inequalities.
Read Health Profiles: 2007.