Nottingham has been revealed to be one of the least healthy places in the country, to the surprise of locals. Newly released data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that the city is the 301st most healthy of 307 local authority areas in England. The low 'Health Index' score, which was based off data collected in 2019, was calculated based off 14 indicators contributing to health.
Nottingham performed poorly in areas such as personal well-being, mortality and received its lowest score for crime. But the city fared better for access to services, which was its highest score, relating to access to GP services, distances to pharmacies, leisure facilities and internet access. It's second highest scoring factor, access to green spaces, also contributed positively to residents' health according to the data.
The report showed that Nottingham Health Index score had decreased slightly in the year before the Covid pandemic. But locals said that they were surprised by the findings. Ken Bickerton, 62, who is retired and lives in Beeston, said: "I am a bit surprised with that it seems very poor, but I think it is hard to tell on the face of it how healthy the city is. I think a lot of it is down to the individual, which obviously isn't the case for some people, but if you're eating junk food everyday it will be different.
