THE rate of premature deaths in east Cheshire fell by more than 20 per cent in one year.


In fact, NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has the second lowest rate of Potential Years of Lost Life (PYLL) of all CCGs nationally.


PYLL is a summary measure of ‘premature deaths’ in a population — that is deaths occurring in people under the age of 75.


A decrease in the rate of PYLL indicates the health of a population is improving – as is the case in Eastern Cheshire.


In September 2014, the CCG received information from the Office of National Statistics that it had achieved a 20.7 per cent reduction in PYLL.


Dr Julie Sin, public health medicine consultant for NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG and Cheshire East Council, said: “This is a very encouraging result and likely to reflect a number of contributing factors including having healthcare services in place when needed, and sustained take up of effective preventive measures.”