A month ago the ONS released their Health Index Scores database, compiling indexes for 73 indicators of health conditions for slightly more than 300 different cities and regions. Essentially, it provides a mass of evidence to allows us to stitch in detail the embroidery of our regional caricatures. It is, in fact an Aladdin’s cave for our prejudices. So let’s dive in.
OK, let’s start with my main prejudices. London, the great stinking Wen is full of chancers prepared to stick it out in the hope of cashing in, compensating by snorting bucket-loads of cocaine. Right? And the North East is a wasteland of Geordies who are drunk and on the razzle if you, and on health bennies if they’re old. Right?
Actually yes, my prejudices turn out of be pretty much on the money. London’s streets may be paved with gold. But there’s a price:
Londoners achieve the lowest, most unhealthy, scores in: living conditions, air pollution, household overcrowding, noise complaints, road safety, personal well-being, worthwhile life activities, feelings of anxiety, happiness & life satisfaction, low birth-weight, protective measures, cancer screening attendance, child vaccination, health places, access to green space, private outdoor space. And guess what, they snort away theses miseries, achieving not only the highest score for drug-taking, but managing a score 1.6 standard deviations above the average of the regions.
But paved with gold.
London lives down to my worst prejudices, but the North East’s health profile is so disastrously poor that if it were a criminal investigation it would be a ‘fit up’, and if they were on the pyschologists couch, we’d be talking about ‘overdetermination.’
Of the 73 metrics, the North East comes bottom in no fewer than 32 categories. Geordies will need all their famed resources of humour to face this one. They score worst in: healthy people, difficulties in daily life, disability, frailty, mental health and mental health conditions, self harm, suicide, dementia, diabetes, kidney & liver disease, musculoskeletal conditions, respiratory conditions, behavioural risk factors including alcohol misuse (yes, really!), sexually transmitted diseases, smoking, children & young people (don’t understand this one), pupil absences, pupil attainment, teenage pregnancy, yout people in education, employment & apprenticeships, physiological risk factors, adult obesity, child obesity, crime, low-level crime, personal crime, economic & working conditions, unemployment, child poverty.
Apart from that, things are pretty rosy up in the North East.
Between them, London and the North East gobble up bottom place in 50 of the 73 categories, leaving only bits and bobs of health misery available for the rest of us.
Still, we can give a dishonourable mention to the North West for its performance in mortality, including avoidable mortality, healthy living, healthy eating, early years development, job-related training. And there’s a nod also for the health dangers of living in the South West, specifically for rough sleeping, internet access (who knew?), access to services, distance to GP (Doc Martin is not available), distance to pharmacies (neither is Mrs Tishell), cancer, cardio-vascular conditions, physical health, general health.
There is one shout-out which calls for specific investigation: there is a statistically improbable level of infant mortality in the West Midlands. Exclude the West Midlands, and the average score for infant mortality is 101.5, with a standard deviation of 4.1 West Midland’s score is 87.1, which is 3.5 standard deviations higher. When you get a result that’s more than 3SDs away from average it tells you something odd is going on, either with the data, or with the world. Something’s going on: too many kids are dying. West Midlands MPs and West Midlands health officials should be on it, fast and hard!
Enough misery: where’s the best region, health-wise? Amazingly, despite the noses full of smoke and coke, London scores the best for ‘healthy people’ and mental health, score which coexist with the highest score for self harm and suicide.
For personal well-being, though, step over to the East of England, where feelings of happiness, and ‘life is worthwhile’ are highest, and feelings of anxiety and alcohol abuse are the lowest, and so are the chances of catching a sexually transmitted disease.
And what about Yorkshire, my patch? Well, as Dylan Thomas wrote in Under Milk Wood: ‘We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood’. We are the losers only in acceptable GP appointment timings, but come very near the top in happiness, personal well being, and life being worthwhile. And bear in mind, these were responses from my fellow Yorkshiremen, so you must expect that things are a bit brighter than that. You should see us when we’re really happy!
Brilliant! As an adopted Yorkshireman, I concur.
Excellent overview as usual from the mighty Michael Taylor