Population structure and characteristics

The mid-1999 resident population of Wirral is 326,600. This is covered by three Primary Care Organisations: Birkenhead Primary Care Group; Wallasey Primary Care Group (PCG); and Bebington & West Wirral Primary Care Trust (PCT) (see figure 1). Overall, Wirral has a population age structure similar to that of England. However, Bebington & West Wirral PCT has a higher proportion of older people, while both Birkenhead and Wallasey PCGs have a higher proportion of younger people than Wirral as a whole.

Figure 1. Map of Wirral showing PCO populations, as at January 2001

The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in this country. Over 110,000 people die of heart problems each year and many more experience a reduced quality of life because of CHD. The effects of heart disease are not distributed equally across society and the geographic and socio-economic variations that exist with regard to the risk factors, incidence and deaths from heart disease have long been known.

This Equity Audit, which aims to profile the need for, provision of and access to, services for patients with heart disease across Wirral, represents a major step in tackling inequalities. The need for such an audit was highlighted in the National Service Framework (NSF) for CHD, which is the Government's blueprint for tackling heart disease. This includes 12 standards covering prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The ongoing implementation of these standards will help ensure high quality and consistent services are in place both locally and across the country. The equity audit is an important part of the local implementation of the NSF and is in line with Our Healthier Nation's two key aims of "improving the health of the population and narrowing the health gap between the most well off and worst off in society".

CHD Equity Audit Process

Equity in health simply put, means "getting what we need for health". Potential sources of inequity include: geography (where you live); age and gender; ethnic origin; and social class. This CHD equity audit attempts to assess how closely 'need' matches 'provision' of services for given areas and groups across Wirral. It is effectively the first stage in what will be an ongoing process. The next phase will involve ensuring that resources and interventions are targeted at those areas and groups found to have the greatest mismatch between need and provision. Further work will then be undertaken to assess whether inequalities have been reduced.

Figure 2. Flow chart showing equity audit process