Shocking truth about ill-health in Motherwell
Team have plans to meet the challenge
BY BRIAN YULE
THE North Community Health Partnership admit they have a tough job on their hands after the first Scottish Health Survey revealed the true extent of health problems in the Motherwell area.
The partnership between NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council concentrates on the area with ML1, ML2 and ML3 postcodes, making it much the same area covered by the old Lanarkshire Health Care Co–operative, with the exception of Bellshill and Viewpark.
It's not to say that the health of people in Motherwell is particularly any worse than that of anywhere else in North Lanarkshire, or indeed much of the west of Scotland, but at the same time it doesn't make good reading.
Examples of this are the fact that 31 per cent of adults smoke, 19 per cent drink too much alcohol, just over five per cent of teenagers have unwanted pregnancies and 44 per cent of people suffer from some kind of long term illness.
I met Gabe Docherty, Jim Murray and Eleanor Wilson from NHS Lanarkshire and Jonathan Smart from North Lanarkshire Council to discuss how they are taking things forward.
Mr Docherty said: "This is the first time that the health of Motherwell has been collated in this way but to be honest the bulk of North Lanarkshire had pretty consistent data. In a lot of areas health is improving but not as quickly as in the rest of Scotland which gives us a major challenge, not just for the services, but the people who live here as well."
Mr Murray said: "A lot of the problems come from deprivation and unemployment. In Motherwell there are more people who have jobs than the Scottish average but many of these are in call centres and we also have to look at the types of jobs people are doing."
Mr Docherty said: "There are also cultural reasons behind the town's bad health as there used to be many mines and ironworks.
"Now it is about how we challenge the legacy of this culture."
To educate anyone it is better to get them young and the partnership have been busy taking their message to local schools.
Mr Docherty said: "We have been to schools to tell the children how to look after their health. School meals are changing and he children themselves realise they should eat healthily. However, there are still lots who use the burger vans, the chip shops and so on."
Mrs Wilson said: "Children do a lot of the educating at home and a lot of parents change things because of their children.
"We target the education system because the better educated children are the better they do in later life."
It isn't just children the partnership are targeting. There is help for adults too.
Mrs Wilson said: "We have been working with the likes of Scottish Enterprise and Jobcentre+ to try and help people get back into work and in turn help themselves to better health."
Mr Docherty said: "We are targeting people on benefits to give them a leg up.
"We are also there to help those you have enough money. When I was young fish and chips used to be a treat but now some people eat that kind of thing every night and we have to lead them to make the right choices."
Mr Murray said: "When it comes down to it there are lots of lifestyle choices that affect health and we can only attempt to change these through education."
Not every areas has exactly the same problems and the partnership has tailored its approach in different ways.
Mr Smart said: "Each partnership has a neighbourhood plan to target initiatives in certain areas that need them the most."
Mr Docherty said: "We don't have an unlimited budget so not only are we trying to improve health we are trying to do it in a cost effective manner.
"It isn't just about making quality initiatives available to people, it's about making them available to the right people.
"To be honest the state of Motherwell's health is of no real surprise — and now we have to start helping it to improve!"
The partnership's initiatives target all section of society. There is Child Smile (dental advice for children), Braidhurst High becoming a health school, the Keep Well Project for men aged 40+ and the Ladies First Clinic for women aged 50+.
THE Motherwell Times is backing the work of the North Community Health Partnership and over the coming weeks will be carrying a series of features about the initiative and how it can help you to lead a healthier life.
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Weather for Motherwell, Scotland
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 28 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
