Key fact
41% of people registered with a Stockport GP (124,000) have one or more long term conditions. By age 55 this increases to half of the registered population and by age 85+, 9 in 10 people have at least one long term condition.
2 in 5 people registered with a Stockport GP have a long term condition
Long term conditions account for £7 in every £10 spent on health care in England
50% of all GP appointments see to long term conditions
7 out of 10 hospital beds are occupied by people with a long term condition
Key issues
- The two key factors for developing a LTC are lifestyle and ageing. The proportion with at least one condition increases with age, from 3% in the 0-4 age band, to 92% in those aged 85 and over
- In the young the main conditions are asthma, affecting more than 2,000 5-14 year olds, and anxiety which affects more than 3,000 15-24 year olds.
- 9% (26,250) of the population have two or more of 8 key long term conditions.
- By age 65, 20% of the population have two or more of the key conditions, rising to 54% in the oldest age group.
Key information for practitioners
- Long term conditions cannot be cured, but can be controlled by interventions. With an ageing population the burden of health services will increase unless patients are empowered to manage their own health more.
- Reducing risky health behaviours such as smoking, alcohol intake and physical inactivity can lead to prevention or at the very least delaying the onset and progression of conditions.
- The rates of these key conditions show a strong deprivation profile. As the number of conditions increase, the deprivation profile becomes more pronounced further impacting on health inequalities.