The Key issues
Healthier Communities and Older People
In partnership with the PCT, service providers, community groups and residents we aim to:
- Increase life expectancy to 78.6 for men and 82.5 for women.
- Increase the number of people adopting a healthy lifestyle e.g. eating 5 A Day, and exercising for 30 minutes 5 times a week
- Reduce mortality from heart disease, stroke and related diseases
- Reduce mortality rates from cancer
- Reduce adult smoking rates
- Increase detection of diabetes
- Reduce infant Mortality Rates
- Reduce Teenage conception rates (Teenage Pregnancy)
- Increase residents satisfaction with health and wellness services
Baseline
Residents living in Leyton are more likely to have poorer health than residents living outside of Leyton. The life expectancy of men and women living in Leyton is much lower than men and women living in other parts of the borough.
The PCTs Public Health Report 2004/05 reported that the life expectancy for men living in Leyton was 72.9 and 78.1 for women. The latest figures from the 2006/07 Public Health report suggests that the life expectancy for men has increased to 73.2 years. However, the life expectancy of women has remained unchanged.
The numbers of people in Leyton dying from Cancers, Coronary Heart Disease and other Circulatory diseases are significantly higher than the death rates from other areas within Waltham Forest. The Public Health Report 2006/07 has shown the number of people dying from these diseases is decreasing, but not enough to narrow the gap between people living in Leyton and London.
Smoking is estimated to be the cause of an estimated 84,900 deaths per year in England. Approximately 1 in 6 deaths in people aged 35 years and above die from a smoking related illness (Public Health report 2006/07). Smoking rates in Leyton are of concern due to the link between smoking and ill health. These deaths could be prevented if people stopped smoking.
The teenage pregnancy rates in Waltham Forest are higher than the conception rate for London. Teenage mothers and their infants are at greater risk of poorer health. For this reason the Government has set a target to reduce the teenage conception rate by 50%. Waltham Forest aims to reduce the conception rate by half by 2010.
Waltham Forest has one of the highest infant mortality rates in London. The number of infants dying before their first birthday is relatively small but the incidence of mortality is often associated with deprivation. Babies born at lower birth weight are often at greater risk of poor health and infant death. The PCT and other agencies are working to improve the health of mothers and babies during pregnancy and after birth.
What is Team Leyton doing to improve the health of residents in Leyton?
- Encouraging people to adopt a Healthy Lifestyle
- working closely to support the borough’s Health Improvement programme. This free service is designed to assess residents health needs and provide advice and support to help people access relevant local services, such as free eating/weight loss programmes, free physical activity sessions as well as information on mental well being, sexual health and sensible drinking.
- training local residents as Level 2 Stop Smoking advisors who work in the community to support people to stop smoking. The PCT also hold a regular Stop Smoking Clinic (funded by the Better Neighbourhoods Initiative) every Thursday at the Oliver Road medical centre.
- hosting Dancing & Cabaret afternoons aimed at older people in the community. These events are designed to reduce the levels of isolation that older people may experience and to increase their levels of physical activity through dance.
Infant Mortality
- training residents and people working in Waltham Forest as Breastfeeding Peer Supporters. These supporters will provide new and expectant parents with advice and support around feeding their infants.
Teenage Pregnancy
- We have trained young people, Street Wardens and other front line staff as condom distributors, in partnership with the PCT and the Teenage Pregnancy Unit. This intervention will improve young peoples access to free condoms. We are working to improve young peoples access to quality Sex, relationship education in and out of school settings.
Improving detection of diabetes
- funding blood glucose and cholesterol testing strips in partnership with the PCT, in order to increase peoples awareness of theses conditions and encourage them to visit their GP for further investigation.
References
Waltham Forest Public Health Reports: http://www.walthamforest-pct.nhs.uk/Publications/publichealthreport.htm