Profile reveals an unhealthy Oldham

A PROFILE of Oldham paints a damning picture of residents’ health, with the borough faring badly in almost all aspects of adults’ lifestyles.

The data is aimed at helping local councils and the NHS decide where to target resources to tackle health inequality by using 32 indicators ranging from deprivation, cancer, children living in poverty to road injuries and deaths.

Life expectancy, obesity, binge drinking, feeling in poor health and mental health are also all measured.

The detailed picture of Oldhamers’ health shows smoking is a bigger problem than in other areas, along with obesity in adults and getting adults to exercise.

In addition, hospital stays for self-harm and alcohol-related problems are also worse across the borough than the England average.

Life expectancy among both men and women remains a problem with significantly higher than average early deaths caused by cancer, heart disease or stroke.

New cases of TB and people being diagnosed with diabetes is also worse than other areas. Deprivation is higher than average and 16,620 children live in poverty.

But by contrast the number of deaths and injuires on the roads is significantly better than the England average and there are fewer cases of homelessness and violence in the borough than elsewhere.

Incidents of skin cancer, winter deaths and hip fractures in over 65s and teenage pregnancy are in line with the average.

Alan Higgins, director of public health for Oldham, said: “These health profiles will provide extra information to help us in our work in tackling the serious health problems affecting our communities.

“Deprivation is still a major factor leading to health inequalities in Oldham and we are working with our providers to offer more support for healthy eating and physical activity and to reduce alcohol-related harm.

“There are a number of areas where we are doing well. Last year we had record numbers of people stopping smoking and beat our target of 2,008 quitters, with 2,034 people giving up.

“Smoking is a significant factor in serious health conditions such as heart disease and stroke which are two major killers.

“We were above the national and regional levels for five-year-olds having MMR vaccinations. We have good uptake of breast and bowel cancer screening, early detection is key to successfully treating cancer.

“We are working to reduce levels of obesity in Oldham, however we have a similar level to other parts of Greater Manchester and the country.”

Health bosses say the Greater Manchester Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm programme is helping to reduce heart problems and there are ongoing programmes to enable early detection and treatment for cancer and improve stroke care.

It is hoped the profile will be used by all local groups, councillors, MPs and health bodies to target specific areas in the district.