Information Services Division Scotland figures show that in relation to Ayrshire and Arran over the last ten years cancer mortality has reduced by 2.1%, for strokes it has fallen by 43% and for heart disease by 30%.
Joe FitzPatrick MSP, Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing said:
“Those figures show that there is a continued downward trend of mortality in Ayrshire and Arran, with dramatic progress in recent years.
“Scotland and Ayrshire have experienced significant improvements in public health, although there are deep-rooted, historic issues in population health that we are working hard to address.
“We know that heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, like other lifestyle-related illnesses, are most pronounced in areas of deprivation. Tackling those inequalities can be done only by addressing their root causes, rather than their consequences. That involves ending poverty, paying fair wages, supporting families and improving our physical and social environment; and, across Government, we put an emphasis on all those areas.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“Eradicating poverty and all the health issues that involves is made much more difficult to resolve by the UK Tory Government’s continued welfare reform programme. Nevertheless, the SNP Government has made dramatic progress in cutting mortality in just a decade, saving thousands of lives in the process.
“The fall in cancer mortality remains much more modest than one would hope. That is why the recently announced £6 million Investment Plan for Quicker Cancer Diagnosis is so important.”
ENDS
