People living in the North West have highest health care needs - as study shows widening north-south divide

People living in the North West of England have some of the highest rates of illness in the country - particularly compared to their southern counterparts, according to new research.

A recent study carried out by the Health Foundation found that women living in the poorest areas of the country have the same level of illness as someone 16 years their senior living in the wealthiest parts.

On average, a 60-year-old woman living in the most deprived areas - which include some boroughs of Greater Manchester - will have the same level of 'diagnosed illness' as a 76-year-old woman living in the richest part of the country.

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Meanwhile, a 60-year-old man living in the poorest areas of England will on average have a level of illness equivalent to that of a 70- year-old man living in the wealthiest areas.

According to the Indices of Deprivation, which was last published in 2019, boroughs such as Oldham have a significant proportion of wards within the most deprived 10 per cent or 20 per cent in England on almost all of the measures within the IMD - which include crime, employment, income, education skills and training, and health.

Using local hospital and primary care data, the study found that for most of their lives, people living in the poorest areas of England, on average, have more diagnosed illness over 10 years earlier than those in the richest areas. And while inequality in life expectancy is greater for men than for women, women face greater disparity in the amount of time spent with diagnosed illness.

A woman living in the poorest areas has a life expectancy five years shorter than those in the wealthiest areas. She will