Overview
You can find out more about the current population of Stockport by visiting the JSNA and reviewing the State of the Borough report on The Stockport Big Picture website.
People in Stockport are facing stark health inequalities
Health inequalities are driven by many factors, but in Stockport the main driver is deprivation.
Stockport is one of the most polarised boroughs in England and both the most deprived and least deprived areas of Greater Manchester lie within Stockport. Someone born in Brinnington can expect to live 10 years less than someone born 5 miles away in Bramhall; to make things worse, 10 to 15 more years of that already shorter life will be spent in ill health.
The population in the most deprived areas in Stockport is younger than those in the least, and there are high rates of child poverty in these areas.
Significantly more older people live in Stockport’s less deprived areas. The health and care needs of people in these areas will be considerably different from areas with younger populations. The life expectancy rate in Stockport has stalled, following national trends.
Nearly a fifth of a person’s life is spent in fair or bad health, and just over 5% is spent in bad or very bad health. In the most deprived areas of Stockport, the decline in health, moving to fair or bad health, starts at age 55, compared to age 71 in the least deprived areas.
How can we reduce health inequalities?
To reduce health inequalities, we need to improve everyone’s health, with universal actions for the whole population and make it easier for everyone to have opportunities to live healthy lives. That means good jobs, affordable homes, good education and a good start in life for everyone.
Some people will need more support, and potentially more resources, according to their level of need. Marmot called this approach ‘proportionate universalism’.
