Speaking at the launch of the profile, the Health Minister said that the profile showed that some important health improvements have been achieved in the Belfast Trust area over the last decade.   

In the Belfast City Council area life expectancy has improved by about two years for men and women, and in the Castlereagh Council area for men life expectancy has improved by up to three years.

He added that while this good news is to be welcomed, the profile also showed that social disadvantage and deprivation play a major part in contributing to health inequalities with gaps in life expectancy growing.  He stressed that it is unacceptable that in this day and age of modern medical interventions there has been slow progress in raising life expectancy for the most deprived in our society.

The Minister stated that health is everyone’s responsibility and we must do more to engage the population to take that responsibility seriously.  He added that as policy makers we must focus on tackling inequalities in health and their root causes and make this a priority. 

He concluded by stating that he believed in the creation of the Agency for Public Health and Social Wellbeing and a stronger role for local government in health improvement will provide the focus needed to ensure better co-ordination of public health services on the ground.

Belfast Healthy Cities hopes that the profile will become an essential resource and basis for agreeing future policy priorities for Belfast and the ongoing health reforms offer a timely opportunity for this.