Survey paints a picture of life in our borough (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Survey paints a picture of life in our borough

12:15pm Thursday 26th June 2008 in

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A HIGH level of violent crime, a very low level of drug misuse and too many obese children - those are three of the findings for Basingstoke and Deane in a new national survey.

A study by the Department of Health and the Association of Public Health Observatories reveals there were almost 3,500 violent crimes in the borough in 2006/07, an average of 22 per 1,000 people.

Across England the figure was 19 and in the South East 18.6.

The figures are part of a huge survey that analyses England by local government area. And there is good news for the borough.

Life expectancy is very healthy, in particular for men, who average 79.1 years - more than their regional and national counterparts, who will live to 78.5 and 77.3 respectively.

Women in the borough have been living an average of 82.6 years, above the national average of 81.6 and the regional figure of 82.4.

Drug misuse is the fourth lowest in the country, with 2.9 people misusing drugs per 1,000 people aged 15 to 64. Regionally it is 6.4 and nationally 9.9.

The extent of the borough's problem with child obesity was also revealed, with more than one in 10 children obese by the time of starting primary school.

A calculation determined by the body mass index of reception year pupils in 2006, showed there were 152 obese children, equating to 10.6 per cent.

The national average is 9.9 per cent and the regional average just 8.7 per cent.

Hampshire Constabulary has responded to the survey's publication by saying the situation has improved since it was compiled in 2006-2007.

Chief Inspector Jill Baldry, Basingstoke and Deane District Commander, said: "For the year since then, reducing violent crime was a priority in the district and the figure for 07/08 reduced by 13.6 per cent, with 2,947 recorded incidents.

"The definition of violent crime is varied and these figures include a significant proportion of public order offences, such as causing alarm or distress with no injury caused."

She added: "Reducing incidents of violent crime remains a priority."

The figures have been released to enable councils to work with the NHS to target health inequalities.

The leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Councillor Andrew Finney, said: "Resident surveys show the vast majority of residents regard Basingstoke as a great place to live and we can be reasonably pleased with this report.

"Very few of our residents recognise that Basingstoke has a problem with violent crime. However, the definition in this report includes fairly low-level crime. That doesn't mean to say we take it any less seriously.

"Childhood obesity is a nationwide problem and we have a marginally more serious problem than the national average. We're already looking at health issues with significant attention paid to childhood obesity."

Jean Bradlow, director of public health at Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), said: "We are delighted that, overall, Hampshire once again has good health outcomes."

Other figures that stand out in the survey include:

• During the 2006-2007 period, there were 210 people admitted to hospital with conditions related to alcohol
• The number of teeth belonging to five-year-olds that were decayed, filled or extracted, averaged just 0.9 per child, compared with 1.1 regionally and 1.5 nationally
• The estimated proportion of adult smokers is lower than the England and regional average - however smoking is estimated to account for around 200 deaths each year
• The number of people dying or seriously injured on our roads each year has improved, although this number is still worse than the national average
• In 2005, each Basingstoke resident produced nine tonnes of CO2 emissions. Nationally, each person produces 7.6 tonnes and regionally 7.3 tonnes.

Details of this survey are available by visiting www.Healthprofiles.info