Steer clear of Manchester to avoid an early grave

Manchester tops the league of premature deaths - with the highest rate of people dying before their time, according to new figures. They show the best place to avoid an early demise is the market town of Wokingham in Berkshire, with the lowest level of avoidable deaths in England.

The north-south divide is laid bare in a national league table published today of premature deaths under the age of 75 over a two-year period. But England also fares badly in a European league table of premature mortality in 17 countries in 2010.

Women in England have the third worst rate - with only Belgium and Denmark doing more badly - and men are seventh for avoidable deaths, according to data released earlier this year.

The new Longer Lives league table website from Public Health England ranks 150 local authorities using a traffic light system, ranging from red for the worst areas to green for the best. There are 103,000 avoidable early deaths in England each year, with four major killers including heart disease and cancer responsible for 75 per cent of those deaths.
In Manchester, there were 455 premature deaths per 100,000 people from 2009 to 2011 - more than twice as many as the best performing area of Wokingham with 200 such deaths in the same period.
Manchester has the highest death rate from cancer in the country, with 152 deaths per 100,000 people recorded, as well as from heart disease and stroke, with 116 deaths per 100,000 people. But Blackpool has the highest rates for liver and lung disease, with 39 and 62 premature deaths per 100,000 in that time.

The new Longer Lives league table website from Public Health England ranks 150 local authorities using a traffic light system, ranging from red for the worst areas to green for the best.

There are 103,000 avoidable early deaths in England each year, with four major killers including heart disease and cancer responsible for 75 per cent of those deaths. England is seventh out of 17 European countries for men and 15th for women.

The peer ranking shows Rotherham, Redcar and Cleveland are doing well among the most deprived areas, while Bracknell in Berkshire and Central Bedfordshire have some of the highest rates of early death in the least deprived areas.

Under the NHS reforms, local councils have been given new responsibilities to enhance public health in their catchment areas. The new website aims to give them information about the current situation in their region so health funding can be spent where it is most needed.