Most deprived in Peterborough dying up to three years early as concerns raised over ‘alarming’ rise in smoking

Briefing members of the city council’s Health and Wellbeing Board at their meeting on Tuesday, Dr Liz Robin, director of public health, said: “Despite all our efforts to improve public health in our area there are still some people dying far younger than they otherwise should.

“Levels of heart disease and obesity among our citizens are up on last year and smoking especially among young people has shown an alarming increase.

“Perhaps most worrying is that Peterborough – which already has a higher than average level of teenage pregnancy – now has a higher than average rate of smoking during pregnancy leading to one year in six of life lost due to smoking and premature death.

“More than one year in seven years of life lost is the result of dietary factors, and high blood pressure and drug/alcohol abuse accounting for over one year in 10 years of life lost.”

The first update in four years of the government’s Index of Deprivation (IoD2019), which reviews the social, economic and environmental circumstances of communities all over England, shows that some citizens in Peterborough are dying as much as three years earlier than they otherwise might.

Dr Robin added: “Peterborough highlights a number of challenges in the wider social and environmental factors that affect health and wellbeing. We have all manner of educational problems in our schools which, alongside the growing crime figures, an ever-increasing diverse and multi-cultural population, make areas of particular concern.

“There has also been a huge increase in the numbers of homelessness in the city, partly due to the increase in population, but also as a result of child and young person mental health issues. One area that I am very worried about is the dramatic drop in child immunisations since 2017/18.”

Labour member Cllr Dr Shabina Qayyum, a local GP, wanted to know why this is happening and what could be done about it.

Dr Robin said: “We need to educate our communities to look at the positive aspects of immunisation and consult with GPs to make certain that people are aware of the potential outcomes of not getting their children vaccinated.”

Cllr Qayyum said: “As a GP I agree with what you’re saying, but Peterborough is a huge multi-cultural melting pot and we need to urgently address issues such as the increased screening for bowel, prostate and breast cancer among the ethnic minorities.”

Dr Robin replied: “We have a new programme of screenings which will hopefully be introduced shortly thanks to additional funding.

“This will mean in the near future we will be able to offer greater coverage of cancer screening for ethnic minorities who traditionally tend to shy away from these treatments.”

Dr Gary Howsam, another local GP and chair of the clinical commissioning group Governing Body, said: “Overall, the wide diversity of and range of social and economic factors within the Peterborough City Council area highlights the need for public services to focus on place-based approaches working with local communities.

“It is very alarming that despite all the messages we put out, smoking, obesity and heart-disease continues to rise to levels that are now well above the national average.

“People in deprivation are dying as a result of this; but most worrying of all is that people who could address their own health issues are not doing so – we need to find a simple message for all people to aspire to change their own health issues.

“Otherwise we will continue to have members of our communities dying earlier than necessary, sometimes losing years off of their lives.”

Robert Alexander, Local Democracy Reporting Service