People living in North Tyneside and Northumberland can now compare the health of people in their neighbourhoods - and health authorities can better target resources to help those who need it most.
This is because a new first-of-its-kind Local Health Index has been launched, which maps a wide range of health-related factors - from how long it takes to drive to a GP to the prevalence of diabetes - and works out a score showing how any given area compares to the national average. Professor Chris Whitty - England's chief medical officer - is among those supporting the new tool.
This has been produced by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust which has been working with the Office for National Statistics and Northumberland and North Tyneside councils on the project. The Index maps how healthy areas roughly the size of postcodes are. Using it, people living in Blyth's Cowpen area can - for example - see how levels of mental ill health compare to people living minutes away.
