PEOPLE living in the most deprived parts of Redditch can expect to live around nine years less than those in the most affluent, according to new health figures.
Parts of Church Hill, Winyates, Greenlands, Redditch town centre, Batchley, Smallwood and Southcrest were all listed among the most deprived areas in the county, housing 25 per cent of the entire population of the town.
The findings were revealed in a report by Liz Altay, consultant in public health at Worcester County Council and delivered to members of Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commisisoning Group (CCG).
She told a meeting of the CCG last week that overall health is good in the county, life expectancy is above average and mortality from common and preventable causes is low.
However overall life expectancy in Redditch was on average less in both men and women than in neighbouring Bromsgrove, where people are said to live on average at least one year longer.
The meeting heard that lifestyle factors in the Redditch ‘health hotspots’ such as smoking, poor diet, too much alcohol and physical inactivity all contributed to the low life expectancy for people living there.
Members were told that the figures were broadly similar to those from 2008, giving them an indication of the size of the task they face to improve the overall health of people in Redditch.