Residents in poorer parts of Dispatch district expected to die 12 years earlier than those living in affluent areas

Nottingham has been ranked as the 11th most deprived area in the country, with some neighbourhoods amongst the 10 per cent most deprived areas in England.

Areas labelled as becoming ‘more deprived’ include parts of Bulwell and Bulwell Forest, parts of Radford and Hyson Green and parts of The Dales and Mapperley.

Areas described as ‘less deprived’ include Wollaton, parts of Lenton, Lean Valley, parts of Bilborough and Aspley.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of death and disability across Nottingham, followed by high-body mass index, which refers to residents suffering with weight problems.

Female life expectancy in Nottingham has been described as ‘significantly lower’ than the England average over the last decade and has shown ‘a downward trend’.

The council said the ongoing Covid pandemic has ‘exacerbated those long-standing inequalities in income, health and opportunity in Nottingham’.

A new Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS) is now set to be created to find out the health and wellbeing needs of communities in Nottingham and how to improve them.

Other causes of death and disability in Nottingham include diabetes, poor diets, high blood pressure, as well as alcohol and drug use.

Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS), which is made up of councils, the NHS, and the voluntary sector, said there needs to be more decision making made by people who use health services.

A report prepared for the latest meeting of council’s health and wellbeing board, said: “The data show that life expectancy in Nottingham is lower than the England average, but also that the low healthy life expectancy (second lowest in England for females and third lowest in England for males) means that Nottingham residents are likely to spend a much greater proportion of their lives in poor health.

“The JHWBS needs to identify and address the driving factors of these levels of death and disability in Nottingham.

“The leading causes of death and disability in Nottingham have remained unchanged since the publication of the previous JHWBS in 2016, with tobacco use identified as the leading cause.”

The report also says health and wellbeing has been ‘heavily impacted’ by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years.

Mental and physical health will be addressed as part of the new strategy and will be focused on ‘delivering outcomes that make a tangible difference to the lives of local people’.

For males in Nottingham, the healthy life expectancy is 57.7 years – significantly lower than average for England of 63.4 years – while for females in Nottingham it is 54.2 years, again lower than the average for England.

Levels of deprivation for Nottingham for the years 2015 to 2019 shows some improvement relative to other parts of the county.

The new strategy to improve the health of the city is set to be in place by April .