Greg Hands MP has welcomed the fact that Chelsea and Fulham residents consider themselves to be among the healthiest in the country, according to the latest 2011 Census. Almost 60% of residents report they are in “very good health”, which was the second highest level of reported good health of 650 UK constituencies.
Data from the last Census, collected in March 2011, has recently been released which compares all of the UK’s 650 parliamentary constituencies. The Census, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, is the most comprehensive source of demographic and social statistics in the
UK today. It asks all members of the population questions about age, sex, birthplace, occupation, housing and marital status as well as social questions such as educational qualifications, home ownership, and health and wellbeing questions.
Recent analysis by the House of Commons Library shows that for the question on ‘self assessed health’, 59.8% of people in Chelsea and Fulham reported that they feel in ‘very good health’, the highest category of wellbeing available. This meant Chelsea and Fulham ranked 2nd out of 650 constituencies in terms of self assessed health. Only Edinburgh South reported better health, with 60.4% saying they were very healthy.
The same Census also revealed the population of Chelsea and Fulham to be just over 105,000, with the 8th highest population density on the country. There are 280 healthcare services in the constituency including hospitals, GP practices, clinics and dentists, including both NHS and private providers.
Greg Hands MP said “I am delighted that residents in my constituency have the second highest level of reported ‘very good’ health in the UK. We have some fantastic health services in the area and I have spent a good deal of my time as an MP defending them. Findings from the Census like these are interesting however as they measure not just the statistics in healthcare in terms of numbers of health workers or money spent, but actually how people feel about themselves and their health. It’s great to see positive health outcomes being measured in this way.”
The encouraging news of good health felt by local people, comes on top of positive developments for the Accident and Emergency services at Charing Cross. Although in the neighbouring seat of Hammersmith, Charing Cross A&E serves many Chelsea and Fulham residents, along with Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. In October last year, following 18 months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Greg and Hammersmith & Fulham Council, the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said it was ‘time to end the uncertainty’ over Charing Cross and that he could ‘absolutely confirm that A&E will remain’. Under the new proposals, Charing Cross Hospital will also become a world-class centre for elective (non-emergency) surgery, from 2017.
Greg added, “The protection of these vital services will be a welcome relief to my constituents in Fulham in particular. It is great that the Government has responded to the views of local people and to my strong representations behind the scenes the last 18 months. These revised proposals will save lives, are in patients’ best interests, and I look forward to the further improvements in patient care and experience of the NHS.”