'We need to alter health behaviour'

"YOUR NHS needs you."

That is the message from doctors in North East Lincolnshire as they urge people to live healthier lives to lessen the financial burden bad habits have on the local NHS.

 

 


The North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus, which will be replaced by the North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), must make up to £22 million in savings by 2014.



These "unprecedented savings", combined with the fact people are living longer and other advances in medicine, are "stretching the NHS more than ever", have prompted the CCG to urge communities to start living healthier lives.

Dr Reeta Singh, the health and wellbeing lead for the North East Lincolnshire Clinical Consortium Group, who practises at Ashwood Surgery in Ladysmith Road, Grimsby, said: "The NHS is more stretched than ever. Our population is living longer and we are in danger of becoming dependent on technology to keep us healthy.

"This comes at a cost and the burden on the NHS is showing. It is not in crisis but cannot continue delivering the services to an optimum without our help.

"We need to change our entire behaviour as a community, rather than solely on individual levels."

As reported, North East Lincolnshire is worse than the national average on a number of key health issues – rates of heart disease, strokes and cancer are higher than average and there are more road injuries and alcohol-related harm than other areas.

Last year, there were 3,675 hospital admissions for alcohol- related harm, 1,543 for drug misuse and 340 smoking related deaths.

To bring these statistics down, the GP clinical consortium group will work with North East Lincolnshire Council to address social aspects of health, as well as the physical.

Dr Singh said: "Illnesses that are, in part, defined by our way of living, put our community as a whole at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, cancers, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.

"It means social norms have to change. It is unlikely someone will stop smoking if it is normal in their household and neighbourhood to smoke. The same applies to eating habits.

"What we are trying to do is change the health behaviours of an entire county – we aren't expecting this to be quick, but we are expecting this to happen.

"We all need to take responsibility for our own long-term health rather than expect the NHS to take responsibility. Healthcare teams will look after you and support you if illness comes your way, but as a community we need to take care of each other and ourselves by eating well, moving about and giving up habits that cause us ill health."