The Isle of Wight council has revealed the four areas on the Island where there are significant unjust and avoidable differences in health.
The team found the top four areas on the Island disproportionately impacted with health inequalities are:
- Parkhurst, Hunnyhill, Pan and Barton
- Ryde Central Wards
- The Bay Area
- Freshwater and Yarmouth
People who live in poorer communities die earlier than those in the wealthiest
Health organisations and public authorities were urged to work together, at Thursday’s health and wellbeing board meeting, to fix the problem.
The Island’s public health team said the latest data demonstrates people of all ages who live in poorer communities die earlier than those in the wealthiest.
The team said worrying about making ends meet, buying healthy food or heating homes can lead to chronic stress, poor health and lives being cut short.
The Bay Area
In the Bay Area, deprivation is higher than the Island average for older people and children, and it has a higher proportion of older people living alone than in the average in England.
It also has significantly worse admission rates than the national average for intentional self-harm and alcohol harm and significantly worse incidences of all cancers.
Freshwater and Yarmouth
In Freshwater and Yarmouth, there is an acutely older population with a level of limiting long-term illness or disability that is higher than the national average.
Paired with lower levels of internet use, the public health team said this could mean people are more susceptible to loneliness and social isolation.
The area also has worse health outcomes for breast and prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Newport
Poorer health outcomes in Parkhurst, Hunnyhill, Pan and Barton, were not driven by old age, the public health team has found, but by multiple areas of deprivation and the prison population.
Disability, hospital admissions and early deaths are higher in the area than nationally with significantly worse admissions for intentional self-harm and alcohol-attributable conditions.
Ryde Central
In Ryde Central, overcrowding and full poverty are more prevalent and more people are living alone but they may experience more barriers which prevent them from adopting and maintaining healthy behaviours.
There are higher rates of admissions for intentional self-harm and alcohol but lower rates of emergency hospital admissions overall.
Public health says ill health in the area is driven by preventable conditions, social factors or building blocks which make it challenging for younger people to live in good health.
Perera: It is within our gift to do that
IW council chief executive Wendy Perera said,
“If we are truly committed to doing something different and changing the health outcomes of Island residents it is within our gift to do that, but we have to actively work together going forward.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
