Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has this week has revealed results of a new study that show the shocking local variation in early death rates. The decision to release the statistics was made to help drive public awareness as well as boosting councils and NHS stand point, making them take action to tackle these public health problems.
The figures are part of Longer Lives, a new Public Health England (PHE) website, which allows local people to see how their areas perform on early deaths from the major four killers like heart disease and cancer, and how this varies across the country.
Using a traffic-light rating system, it ranks areas showing those performing above average in tackling avoidable deaths as green, while exposing the worst areas that are lagging behind and need to do more as red.
The website contains a range of data that for the first time, allows people to easily compare an area’s mortality performance. This performance is measured through similar populations, incomes and levels of health.
Overall it shows that the north of England has a higher risk of early death than the south, but when comparing areas of a similar socio-economic status it reveals a more complex picture. For example, Rotherham and Redcar & Cleveland have the best rates of reducing premature deaths amongst those local authorities with the greatest levels of deprivation, whilst areas such as Bracknell Forest and Central Bedfordshire have the worst rates of premature mortality amongst the most affluent local authorities. Some areas do well on most measures; however some have concerning scores for just one or two conditions.
Local councils have a pivotal role in leading the local health and care system to improve the health of their local communities. Local councils were given responsibility for public health in April 2013 as part of a move to empower local areas to make real change. To help them deliver these improvements the government has given them £5.46bn of ring-fenced funding over the next two years.
By bringing together the data on premature deaths it is anticipated that local councils will be able to gain insight into the circumstances they have inherited, allowing them to classify areas of alarm and take action.
The website provides examples of best practice from local authorities that now have the responsibility for improving public health in their local area. Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is also provided, as are links to information about each cause of mortality from NHS Choices that users and members of the public may find helpful in improving their health.
This data is the first information to be rolled out as part of the government’s plans to provide the public and health professionals with clear, easily accessible information on how health and care services are doing in improving health outcomes wherever we live.
The data and website will provide local areas with information to help them understand their own position and better target efforts to improve the public’s health.
