BURY people are the sickest citizens in the borough, with more than a quarter of the town's population needing hospital treatment last year.

The shock figure is revealed in the annual report of Bury and Rochdale Health Authority published this week.

The report shows figures for the number of inpatients and day patients in geographical areas, and 272.05 of every thousand Bury folk were treated in hospital in 1996/97.

That is the highest figure in the borough. Radcliffe has the second highest figure, with 260.61.

Prestwich is next with 243.91, then Whitefield with 232.77.

The healthiest residents live in the north of the borough. Only 226.31 per thousand Tottington people needed inpatient or day case treatment, and in Ramsbottom the figure falls to 208.32, the lowest in the health authority's entire area.

The figures are just some of many interesting facts revealed in the annual report, and the authority hope that local people will take a "healthy" interest in it.

"Annual reports have always been public documents, but we hope that more people in Bury and Rochdale will find the annual report an interesting read, while answering some questions about the way the local health service works" said Mr Richard Popplewell, chief executive of the authority.

The authority have tried to break away from tradition with this year's report aiming to show an overview of the work of the authority, rather than just looking back over the events of the previous year.

The health authority is the "purchasing" arm of the NHS in the area. Their role is to identify the health care needs of the area and "buy" services from providers, such as Bury Health Care NHS Trust, accordingly. The report explains this role more fully. It lists the members of the health authority, and looks at the services provided by the main local hospitals, including Bury General, Fairfield General and North Manchester General.

The report shows how the authority measured up to the patient's charter targets, and how they have tackled particular health problems in the area.

Developments in the NHS, such as community care for mentally ill people, child care and cancer services are also discussed.

"The nature of health care is something that will affect us all at some time in our lives," said Mr Popplewell. "It is important, therefore, to make public documents on subjects such as this as accessible and understandable as possible."

Among the other facts and figures in the report are:

More than 90 per cent of local children are immunised against diseases such as diptheria and rubella - one of the highest figures in the country.

Some 83 per cent of people in the area are under a fund-holding GP - the third highest figure in the country.

The biggest killer in the area is coronary heart disease. In 1995 1,084 people died of it, around 7 per cent higher than the national average.

The health authority spends £129.8 million on health care in 1996/97, equivalent to £650 for every man, woman and child in the area.

The reports will be available at local libraries and information centres, or from the authority's offices in Silver Street, Bury.

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