Home truths: 9-year gap in life expectancy

A STARK picture of the health of people living in the Westcountry has revealed a divided region with those in its most affluent areas living up to nine years longer than those in deprived parts.

The yawning gap is highlighted in Healthy Profiles, an annual snapshot of the well-being of people across the South West.

Although the region's residents fare well compared to the national average, living longer and generally healthier lives, a major difference has emerged between the haves and have-nots.

In Cornwall, women living in smart enclaves like Padstow, Rock and Fowey live nine years longer than those in parts of Penzance and Camborne.

For men, the difference between living in the posh part of the county and a more deprived area will, on average, mean a difference in life expectancy of five years.

Felicity Owen, director of public health for Cornwall, said there were huge issues of deprivation in the county.

"There is a marked division between people living in the least deprived areas and those in the most deprived areas. There are places such as Fowey, but then just a few miles away, there are places like St Austell, where the picture changes very quickly.

"There are small pockets of deprivation all over the place where you have people who have nothing living cheek by jowl with people who have a lot more."

The report reveals that in Cornwall, the numbers of women who smoke during pregnancy or people who claim incapacity benefits for mental illness are higher than the national average.

But over the last 10 years, early deaths from heart disease, stroke and cancer have been declining and remain below the national average.

Mrs Owen said nearly 500 people in Cornwall died early from stroke and heart disease each year.

There were also 9,500 hospital admission due to alcohol abuse in Cornwall.

Tackling smoking, obesity and excessive drinking were key targets to helping overcome health inequalities, she said.

"Overall, the general health in Cornwall is good, but we know there are significant health inequalities and we need to address these."

There was a similar picture of health inequalities revealed in Devon. In Torbay, a man in the affluent part of town will on average live seven years longer than one a few miles away in the most deprived part.

In Plymouth – the only area of Devon and Cornwall where health is said to be worse than the national average – the life expectancy difference is six years for a man and three years for a woman.

The city suffers from high levels of deprivation, homelessness and violent crime. It has the highest numbers in the Westcountry for alcohol-related hospital stays and tops the national average for drug misuse.

Steve Brown, assistant director of public health at Devon Primary Care Trust, said the county's beautiful landscape masked severe inequalities.

"People living in the South West, and Devon specifically, are generally healthier than people living in other areas Men and women in the county have a higher life expectancy than the England average and fewer people are dying from heart disease and stroke.

"But this is by no means the whole story and the rosy picture of Devon life can disguise significant health inequalities between the more affluent areas of the county and deprived areas in Exeter, North Devon and Torridge."

Sexually transmitted diseases were on the rise in Devon, especially in the 15-26 age group, and one in five adults still smoked.

In Torbay, high teenage pregnancy rates and hospital admissions for alcohol misuse are highlighted in the report.

Debbie Stark, acting director of public health for Torbay, said: "Torbay does have some specific challenges, including rates of teenage pregnancy and smoking during pregnancy, which we are absolutely committed to addressing."

Health Profiles is compiled by the Public Health Observatories for the Department of Health, with the aim of planning services and helping channel funding.

NHS South West's regional director of public health Dr Gabriel Scally said the region was one of the healthiest in England and improvements were being made all the time. But he warned against complacency.

"There is more work to be done to try to ensure everyone can expect great health and healthcare no matter where they live."