Health Inequalities in Camden and Islington 2001
Synopsis:
The first chapter of this report takes a high level view of health
inequalities using three relatively broad brush indicators of health:
the two new national health inequalities targets – life expectancy and
infant mortality – and overall death rates. The second chapter maps the
principal determinants of health across the two boroughs, highlighting
inequalities. The rest of the report then takes the Our Healthier Nation
and NHS Plan health priorities as its framework, with chapters on
cancer, heart disease, injury, mental health, and tuberculosis, the last
of which is a London priority. Previous annual reports have covered
heart disease (2000), children (1999) and older people (1998). The
present report closes with a fresh look at the recommendations made in
those earlier reports, recasting them for the new PCTs. We have
focused mainly on a limited number of national and local priorities
which together comprise the main causes of mortality and a substantial
proportion of ill-health in Camden and Islington. There are several
important local health issues that are omitted such as diabetes and
asthma. These chronic conditions are of particular relevance to primary
care, and warrant analysis in the near future. Moreover, although injury
as an Our Healthier Nation priority is covered in this report, it has
not been reflected in the more recent NHS Plan. As chapter five makes
abundantly clear, injury reduction must remain a top local priority.
Each year around 90 local residents are fatally injured – many are young
people in their teens and early twenties. Local injury death rates are
much higher than nationally with no sign of improvement. These deaths
are particularly tragic because they are potentially preventable. What
is resoundingly apparent from each of my four annual reports is that the
NHS is but one player in health improvement, and that, within the NHS,
primary care has a pivotal role to play in prevention, health promotion,
treatment and care. For this reason, I believe that PCTs hold promise of
real health gain - bringing the NHS, including public health
practitioners, closer to the public and closer to our partners in action
for health, the local authorities and the voluntary sector. At the same
time, Local Strategic Partnerships, the new borough-based partnership
arrangements, are a potentially powerful force for population health and
well-being, building on the success of the Health Action Zone. I hope
that my report will be used to help make this a reality. To download
the full report please
click here
For further information please see:
www.islingtonpct.nhs.uk |
