More chance of dying in Warrington!

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WARRINGTON has one of the worst premature death rates in the country for heart disease and strokes – ranking 15th out of 15 with similar authorities – with health chiefs admitting more work needs to be done to improve public health in the town.
New figures published by Public Health England today (Tuesday June 11) show Warrington ranking 119th out of 150 local authorities for premature deaths from heart disease and strokes and 82nd from overall premature deaths.
The borough’s director of public health, Dr Rita Robertson, emphasised that more action is needed to address the rate of cardio-vascular disease in
Warrington – and stressed the need for at-risk members of the public to move towards healthier lifestyles.
The town’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy had already identified a reduction in CVD (cardio-vascular disease) mortality as a key priority.
Dr Rita Robertson said: “Local rates of CVD have decreased considerably over the past ten years, but not as much as we would have wanted.
“The main factors associated with an increased risk of developing CVD are smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, excessive consumption of alcohol and high blood pressure. So the good news is that these risk factors can be addressed through health improvement interventions and individual lifestyle changes. Much of the preventative work done locally is aimed at reducing these risk factors, and work is targeted to populations known to be at greatest risk.
“We know that many of these risk factors have improved in recent years. For example, smoking prevalence has reduced, both in adults, young people and pregnant women. The latest rate amongst pregnant women in Warrington is 9%, which is the lowest it has ever been and much lower than that of England as a whole.”
She said Warrington was working hard to tackle heart disease and stroke.
Dr Robertson added: “There is lots of work being done in Warrington to address this issue. We are working with local GPs to ensure that residents between the ages of 40 and 74 are offered an NHS Health Check. This will identify those people at greater risk of developing heart disease or stroke and will enable GPs to ensure that patients receive effective treatment early, before the disease becomes established. Since November 2012, more than 5,000 local people have been invited to attend one of these health checks, and we are urging people to make every effort to attend when they receive their invitation.”
Warrington Borough Council received a Public Health Grant of just over £10m in 2013/14 to undertake its new public health function. Of this, over £4.1m will be spent on addressing CVD and its associated risk factors, and investing in “upstream interventions” to ensure children and young people are given the best start in life. The remaining allocation will be used to address other important issues like sexual health, health protection, substance misuse, mental health and emotional wellbeing, and in supporting the local NHS with Public Health issues.
Cllr Pat Wright, (pictured right) Warrington Borough Council’s executive member for health and wellbeing, added: “We welcome the publication of these figures. They not only show what we need to focus on to improve Warrington people’s health; they also show that we’ve got our priorities right.
“Addressing the concerns raised by these figures will require a joint effort between the health authorities and members of the public. I’m confident that with the measures we already have in place, and the new funding, the council will be able to help Warrington’s residents look after their health better, leading to a healthier lifestyle that reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.”
The figures can be found at www.longerlives.phe.org.uk


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Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.

3 Comments

  1. I find it bizzare that the article makes no mention of the multi million £ investment in Orford Park as leading the way in helping improve the health of local people in one of the more deprived areas of the town.

    Does the council engage with its community partners?

  2. Give the council a chance warringtonian, I have just taken reirement and was asked to take part in a screaning for arteria screaning two weeks ago at the orford park hub.

    the people who organised this were from Halton.The Orford hub is a splendid testimony to Warrington Borough Council providing services in deprived areas but special thanks must go to the councillors who put in the hard work to get the project off the ground. Especially to Councillor Mike Hannon.

    Incidentally have you been there? may I suggest a visit if you hav’nt you will be pleasantly surprised

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