Cambridgeshire: Cancer Death Rates Low
11 June 2013, 06:10 | Updated: 11 June 2013, 10:37
New research suggests Cambridgeshire has among the lowest Cancer death rates in the country.
Cambridgeshire County Council is among ten local authorities in England with the lowest rate of cancer deaths, in Public Health England's national survey.
However Peterborough City Council is said to have high levels of deaths linked to lung and heart disease.
The research is from Public Health England, which has produced a new website highlighting serious divisions in healthcare across England.
It's the first time mortality rates have been mapped out nationally.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says he hopes it'll "spur on" the poor performing local authorities.
The map shows that there is a clear north/south divide in the statistics, which show the number of people under the age of 75 who died over a two-year period, with the Health Secretary describing it as a "shocking variation''.
Manchester and Blackpool are the two local authorities that recorded the worst results for specific causes of death highlighted by Public Health England - heart disease and stroke, cancer, liver disease and lung disease.
Manchester also has the worst overall level of early death.
Jeremy Hunt said: "This shocking variation in early and unnecessary deaths means people's lives are needlessly cut short and that cannot continue unchecked.
I want areas to use the data released today to identify local public health challenges like smoking, drinking and obesity and to take action to help achieve our ambition for saving 30,000 lives a year by 2020.''
In Manchester, there were 455 premature deaths per 100,000 people from 2009 to 2011.
The region 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.
Blackpool has the highest rates for liver and lung disease, with 39 and 62 premature deaths per 100,000 respectively in that time.
Wokingham has the lowest overall premature mortality rate with 200 such deaths in the same period, making it the best in the list of 150 local authorities.
It is also the best region for heart disease and stroke, with the lowest number of deaths - 40 per 100,000 from 2009 to 2011.