Bus maps set out life expectancy gaps

GAPS in the life expectancy of people in different parts of Nottingham have been revealed in bus and tram maps of the city.

The maps feature the best-used bus routes and show, on a short trip around the city, there can be large differences in life expectancy.

Anyone travelling along the number 35 bus route would find the average male resident dies aged 70 in Bilborough and 72 in Aspley – but 80 in affluent Wollaton.

Life expectancy for men in St Ann's is just 67 but increases along the 22 bus route to 72 in Mapperley and 73 in Sherwood.

The maps have been produced by the Nottingham City Primary Care Trust to illustrate health inequalities as part of a five-year plan to try to tackle the problem.

The differences in life expectancy are due to people dying earlier from heart disease, strokes, respiratory disease and cancer in some parts of the city.

Health bosses have pledged to increase funding for prevention of ill-health by £2.5m by 2013, which is 0.5% of the total budget.

The health trust aims to narrow the gap in mortality rates from cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart, in different parts of the city by 20%.

A Citizens' Health Panel has been set up to give residents a chance to have their say on health services.

And a series of needs assessments have been carried out to come up with proposals for key areas of public health.

In the report setting out its plan, primary care trust chairman Ron Buchanan said ending health inequalities was a "hugely challenging aim."

He said: "How can it be just that a journey of a few miles sees the local life expectancy change by a decade or more?

"We are seeking to make major and rapid improvements to health and to reduce or remove current inequalities."

The officials behind the report say health inequalities can be traced back to factors such as diet, physical activity and high levels of smoking.

There is a ten-year difference in life expectancy for women between St Ann's and Wollaton West, but for men there is a 13-year difference.

Mary Kenning, of the St Ann's Allotment group, lives in nearby Mapperley.

She says financial factors are to blame for the area's low life expectancy.

She said: "It is health inequality and wealth inequality – there is a high level of poverty in St Ann's.

"There are poor shopping facilities. You need a healthy, balanced diet but you don't find the same kind of shops as you do in Hyson Green."

robert.parsons@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk