Number of premature deaths in Havering among country’s lowest - but higher than most similar boroughs

Nearly 2,000 people in Havering died prematurely between 2009 and 2011, government figures released today show.

That figure – 247 premature deaths for every 100,000 people in the borough – places it in the country’s top third of local authority areas.

But when compared with other areas that have similar economic backgrounds, the picture is less rosy.

Public Health England puts local authority areas into 10 groups, ordered by levels of deprivation, so they can be better compared.

Havering, along with 14 other areas, is in the third least deprived group of local authorities in the country. That puts it alongside the London boroughs of Barnet, Bexley, Harrow and Sutton, as well as other regions elsewhere in the country.

And of those 15, Havering is ranked 11th – the worst London borough in the group.

The biggest killer of people under 75 in Havering between 2009 and 2011 was cancer, with 104 deaths per 100,000 people. Nationally the figure ranges from 83 in Harrow to 152 in Manchester.

But Havering has one of the worst figures for premature cancer deaths among its socioeconomic group.

Havering is also 60th out of the country’s 150 local authority areas for premature deaths by heart disease and stroke.

Havering Council took over public health from the local NHS in April. It is now responsible for improving the health of local people and providing public health advice to the Havering Clinical Commissioning Group, the new group of GPs who shape health services in the borough.