Tackling the health inequalities linked to Sunderland's heavy industrial past

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed there were 140 deaths from respiratory illness for every 100,000 people in Sunderland in 2021.

This placed the local authority eighth out of 333 in England for deaths from lung conditions, and substantially above the national average of 94 deaths for every 100,000 of the population.

At the latest meeting of the city council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee councillors raised concerns over such issues and asked for information on the causes and what is being done in response.

Scott Watson, who represents the area as part of the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, said it is “no surprise” the area features highly for such statistics and it is an issue they are working to tackle.

He said: “Unfortunately from a Sunderland standpoint we are on the wrong end of a lot of those indicators, respiratory illness, cancer, all the rest of them.

“A lot of them are linked to our heavy industrial past so we still see now a lot of respiratory illness because of the mining and shipbuilding and all that sort of thing.

“I think it’s a symptom of where we’ve been as a city and the levels of deprivation that we’ve seen, but hopefully through targeted investment and putting things in there more on the preventative side, we’ll see those reduced in the future.”

He added all plans they put in place now must demonstrate how the steps they take will impact on health inequalities in the city.

Mr Watson added: “So we’ve got to show how they’ll impact and reduce respiratory illness, how they’ll impact and reduce cancer, that kind of thing.”

Councillor Mel Speding, Shiney Row ward representative, stressed the importance of striving to improve the figures and support individuals in the city.

He said: “There is a legacy, I understand there is a legacy, but it’s a legacy that should be getting less, rather than more.

“We’re getting on in the region of 40 years, the shipyards have gone, the glass works have gone, all those places where health and safety wasn’t exactly at the forefront of the situation all those years ago.”

Health officers added they work with major employers in the city to ensure adequate medical support is in place.

They also noted in recent months they have set up “respiratory hubs” to support patients in need and save them from visiting hospitals.