BSW Together serves a combined local population of 940,000.
The combined area of B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire has a complex and extremely varied demographic structure and geography which poses challenges to the delivery of health and social care.
The health needs of local people varies across our area. Here’s a snapshot and some areas of concern.
- 180,000 people in BSW have some form of Mental Health condition.
- In BSW 5.56% of the population has diabetes yet 20% of the COVID deaths were in people with diabetes.
- 156,000 people in BSW have 3 or more long-term conditions
- 85,000 people in BSW aged 65+ on 10 or more prescriptions. This is nearly 1 in 2.85
- The percentage of people with a learning disability living in residential care often away from home is greater than the national average increasing isolation
Other areas of concern include:
Diabetes
Across BSW we have specific issues with diabetes detection and treatment:
- Low numbers of people with type 2 diabetes attend structured education compared to other areas
- Low levels of diabetic patients achieve the 3 NICE recommended treatment targets
- There are an estimated 5,700 people who live with undiagnosed diabetes.
Smoking
- While overall smoking rates across BSW are on a par with national averages, we still have approximately 100,000 adult smokers
- Smoking rates in Swindon are significantly higher than national average, and smoking prevalence for people in routine and manual occupations in B&NES and Wiltshire is worse than national average
- Significant inequalities exist, for example smoking rates are higher for people in more deprived areas, and people with severe mental illness or substance misuse issues.
Alcohol dependency
Rates of alcohol dependency in BSW are similar to the rest of England, however we have
- higher than average rates of hospital stays related to alcohol – for under 18s B&NES and Wiltshire, and for over 18s in Swindon
- higher than average rates of hospital stays related to alcohol for over 18s in Swindon