Nationally, NHS and local authority social care services are facing significant challenges, both financially and in terms of meeting the needs of a changing population. Tower Hamlets Together aims to respond to these challenges.
Whilst we should celebrate the fact that people are living longer, it also means that more people are living with one or multiple long-term health conditions which require more support and care from health and social care services.
In addition, locally here in Tower Hamlets, our communities face some unique health challenges, with significant levels of poverty and high premature death rates amongst adults from circulatory disease, cancer and respiratory disease. Our population is also growing fast, which will lead to even greater challenges if we fail to act now.
We want to ensure every child in Tower Hamlets has the best possible start in life, which can then continue for the remainder of their lives. We will work to ease the effects of deprivation, early illnesses and support parents of young children.
39% of children in Tower Hamlets live in poverty – the highest rate of poverty in the UK
9% of the 4,500 babies born each year have a low birth weight
Around 10% of pregnancies are complicated by diabetes
20% of mothers in Tower Hamlets are estimated to have a common mental health disorder
By developing stronger links between health, childcare, education, social care, voluntary and community organisations, Tower Hamlets Together aims to improve health and care services for children, young people and their families that are responsive to their needs and pressing concerns.
12% of 4 to 5 year olds and 25% of 10 to 11 year olds in Tower Hamlets are obese
High rates of tooth decay amongst children aged 5 years, with the need for tooth extraction being the largest single cause of hospital admissions for children
Approximately 10% of children are estimated to have a mental illness
Tower Hamlets has high rates of sexually transmitted infections, particularly among people under the age of 24
Tower Hamlets is one of the fastest growing places in the country. A rapid increase in residents aged 35-64 will bring new challenges for local health and social care services locally. We're also a place of extremes: with some affluent residents living alongside pockets of severe deprivation. Some our residents live with multiple long-term health conditions. We are working together to provide support for adults throughout the borough.
The main causes of death in Tower Hamlets are cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Tower Hamlets has a higher aged-standardised mortality rate from cancer and respiratory diseases compared with both London and England.
In 2020-22, life expectancy at birth in Tower Hamlets for males is 77.0 years (1.9 years below the England average); for females 81.2 years (1.6 years below the England average).
Tower Hamlets is unusual in having shorter healthy life expectancy for women than for men. This suggests some women in our borough live in unusually poor health.
There are high rates of diabetes, particularly amongst the Bangladeshi community
In Tower Hamlets, there are nearly 5,000 adults aged 18-74 years old with severe mental illnesses, with a greater prevalence than London and England overall.
In Tower Hamlets, there is a higher rate of death and disease caused by cancer than elsewhere in London. In Tower Hamlets, uptake of breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening is lower than London and England averages.
The legacy of the Tower Hamlets Together Vanguard and greater cross-system working has given us the opportunity to think about how we can better organise ourselves and the heath and social services around the population that we serve. In order to do this and avoid duplication, we have developed three workstreams to bring stakeholders together from across the THT partners around the following population groups:
We believe every child should have the best possible start in life. We aim to develop health and education services in Tower Hamlets for both maternity and childhood, improving their physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.
We aim to take action early, to prevent the illnesses that disproportionately affect poorer and more deprived residents. This means providing the right support at the right time to enable people in Tower Hamlets to live healthy happy lives. And it means simplifying and enhancing care for those with long-term health conditions or who are vulnerable to illness.
The intention is that our population will fit into one of these groupings, ensuring that services and provisions supported by Tower Hamlets Together better tailored to the needs of the group.
