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Bradford in Figures

Health

Deprivation in Bradford

The Government's Multiple Index of Deprivation 2000 shows that Bradford District is one of the most deprived areas in the country. Over 190,000 people, 42% of the District's population live in wards that fall in the 10% most deprived wards in the country. Only Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester have more people in this category.

There is considerable evidence linking deprivation to ill health, and local people experience ill health in excess of the national averages. The following table shows that Bradford has the second highest Standardised Mortality Ratio for West Yorkshire. (The Standardised Mortality Rate shows how much more likely a resident in one area is to die relative to the national average [ England ]. Values over 100 indicate an above average risk of death).

Bradford District ranks 281 from a total of 377 other local authorities ranked in terms of Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR) for all deaths registered in 2001 in England and Wales .

Within the District, the highest Standardised Mortality Ratios for 1995 - 2000 (for all deaths of people in the District aged under 75) were for City Primary Care Trust which covers the centre of Bradford; and the lowest were for Airedale Primary Care Trust which covers the Bingley, Keighley and Ilkley area.

Local and National Health Priorities

The Department of Health has identified a series of performance indicators. These are an annual "health check", and allow comparisons to be made between the previous local health authorities and hospital trusts. One of the six areas of performance at health authority level is Health Improvement; some of the categories included are: life expectancy for men and women, deaths from cancer and heart diseases, and infant mortality.   The most recent Performance Indicators were published in February 2002.

The next set of performance indicators (reflecting performance during 2001/2) will be published in summer 2003, and will show indicators for each of the Primary Care Trusts, instead of for Health Authorities.

* Life Expectancy

This indicator shows the average life expectancy in years (this is an estimate of the number of years men and women are expected to live, based on the mortality rates for the area).

Life expectancy figures for Bradford are lower than the national averages. Men in Bradford have the lowest life expectancy in West Yorkshire; women have the second lowest life expectancy in West Yorkshire, after Wakefield.

* Cancer

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death in this country, and is responsible for one out of every four deaths. The Government target is to reduce the death rate from cancer for people under 75 years by at least a fifth by 2010.

The Yorkshire and Humber region has a significantly higher rate of mortality from all cancers than England and Wales as a whole; and a higher death rate from lung cancer for both males and females.

The mortality rate from cancer in people aged under 75 is higher for Bradford than the national average; and the second highest in West Yorkshire, after Wakefield .

Within the District, deaths from cancer for people aged less than 75, (for the five years ending 2000) were the highest for North and South and West Primary Care Trusts. Airedale PCT experienced a lower than average rate, whilst City PCT experienced a slightly higher than average Standardised Mortality Ratio of 102

Lung cancer mortality rates for women in Bradford District have reduced to a similar level to that seen nationally. The Bradford rates peaked in 1992, but have fallen each year since then. However, they are still higher than the England rates and for other comparable districts around the country.

* Circulatory Diseases

Circulatory Diseases are a major cause of early death in the UK, accounting for a third of all deaths in men and a quarter of all deaths in women, aged under 65 years. The Government target is to reduce the death rate from coronary heart disease and stroke and related diseases in people aged under 75 years by at least two fifths by 2010.

Coronary Heart Disease caused around 125,000 deaths in the UK in 2000. Trends show that death rates from Coronary Heart Disease in the UK have been falling; for adults under 65 years they have fallen by 40% in the last ten years - although the fastest falls have taken place in the younger age groups. Despite recent improvements, the death rate from Coronary Heart Disease in the UK is still the highest in the world.

Coronary Heart Disease epitomises inequalities in health. The premature death rate from Coronary Heart Disease for male manual workers, such as builders and cleaners, is 58% higher than for non-manual workers; and the premature death rate for female manual workers is twice as high as that for female non-manual workers.

There are also ethnic variations, South Asians living in the UK have a higher premature death rate from Coronary Heart Disease than average; the rate is 46% higher for men and 51% higher for women.

The mortality rate from circulatory diseases in people aged under 75 is higher for Bradford than the national average, and the highest in West Yorkshire .

Deaths from Coronary Heart Disease for people aged under 75, for the five years ending 2000, were highest for City Primary Care Trust with an average Standardised Mortality Ratio of 158. Figures for both sexes show a SMR of 150 for men and 178 for women.

The lowest SMR were for Airedale PCT - figures for both sexes show 85 for men, and 97 for women.

Deaths from Stroke for people aged under 75, for the five years ending 2000, were highest for City Primary Care Trust with an average Standardised Mortality Ratio of 170. Figures for both sexes show a SMR of 177 for men and 160 for women.

* Infant Mortality Rate

The Government's Infant Mortality Target announced in February 2001, is: "Starting with children under one year, by 2010 to reduce by at least 10 per cent the gap in mortality between manual groups and the population as a whole."

Government projections for the national infant mortality rate show an anticipated fall to below 5 deaths per thousand live births by 2004. However, the trend has been for a widening of the gap between the manual social class groupings and the population as a whole. The gap between the infant mortality rate among those in social class I (professional) and social class V (unskilled manual) - the two ends of the social class spectrum - widened by 9.3% between 1997-99 and 1998-00. The rate for social class V is now double that for social class I.

Bradford has the second highest infant mortality rate in England, with 8.4 deaths, (the highest is Walsall with a rate of 8.8) .

Infant mortality rates for the Primary Care Trusts have not been included as the number of deaths at this level are so small that rates are likely to vary widely.

Health Care Provision

The Department of Health Document "Shifting the Balance of Power within the NHS" published in July 2001 set out a rapid and radical programme for the modernisation and restructuring of the National health Service. For Bradford District this means :

• Bradford Health Authority ceased to exist in April 2002

• A Strategic Health Authority for West Yorkshire was established in April 2002, 10% of the functions of the former Bradford Health Authority were transferred to the new West Yorkshire body

• Bradford's four Primary Care Trusts acquired new roles and responsibilities - the remaining 90% of the functions of the former Bradford Health Authority were transferred to them.

 

More information

For more information about the Department of Health Performance Indicators:

http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhsperformanceindicators/2002

For more information about Coronary Heart Disease:

http://www.dphpc.ox.ac.uk/bhfhprg/stats/2000/2002/mortality.html

For demographic and general health characteristics:

http://www.primary-care-db.org.uk

This site was last updated on 6th August 2003