The gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor in Chorley is worse than ever, new research has revealed.
While average life expectancy continues to rise nationally, in Chorley lifespans have fallen across the board and the gap between social classes has widened to its largest levels.
Government statistics released today show the average life expectan
cy for men in the town is now is 77.2 years, while for women it is 81.3 years, down an average of three-and-a-half months for both sexes from last year's figures.
The situation is even worse for men living in poorer neighbourhoods, who now live an average of eight years less than men from more affluent areas – up from seven years in 2009.
For women the figure has risen from five to six years over the same period.
MP Lindsay Hoyle said: "The gap in life expectancy is obviously something that needs to be addressed.
"Whereas Chorley is generally seen as being a wealthy area, there are pockets of deprivation and when we are looking for funding in the future we need to ensure that it is directed at the areas most in need."
The findings are revealed in the Department of Health's health profiles for 2010, produced by the Association of Public Health Observatories.
The summaries are designed to help local councils and the NHS decide where to target action and resources in their area.
Of the 32 health indicators, Chorley is worse than the national average in 14 of them.
Key findings include:
* The rate of people claiming incapacity benefits for mental illness is better than the England average;
* The percentage of children classified as obese is better than the England average but tooth decay in children is worse than the England average;
* The rate of hospital stays for alcohol-related harm and binge drinking is worse than the national average.
Dr Zakyeya Atcha, NHS Central Lancashire consultant in public health medicine, said: "These health profiles help us to shape our services and spend our money where it will do most good.
"In regards to alcohol-related harm, we are doing work to identify who is admitted to hospitals across central Lancashire due to alcohol.
"This information is then used to focus our services on supporting these people to help them reduce the amount they drink.
"It is important too that, when looking at these figures, we compare year-on-year rather than against the averages of other areas.
"Every area has different needs and issues and what is important is that the work we are doing is making a difference to the health and quality of life of people living in central Lancashire.
"These profiles show that we still have a long way to go and although improvements have been made across the regions there are still variations between the different boroughs.
"As we continue to make health services more accessible to people and encourage people to stay well in the long-term, we should achieve our goal of improving the health and wellbeing of the people of central Lancashire."
