Foleshill and Longford place based profile

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy are extremely important summary measures of overall population health. The Marmot Review, Fair Society, Healthy Lives, demonstrates clear and significant links between avoidable differences in health outcomes and deprivation, where people experiencing multiple deprivation not only living shorter lives, but spend a greater portion of their shorter lives with a disability or in poor health. As a Marmot city, Coventry has adopted and embedded the principles of Marmot, tackling the social conditions that can lead to health inequalities, and working to improve the areas in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. 

What is the local picture? How does it compare?

There are health inequalities across Coventry whereby areas with higher levels of deprivation tend to have lower life expectancy, Foleshill and Longford is one of those areas.  Life expectancy is a statistic giving a high-level picture of the health of Coventry residents and should be used with care in understanding likely life spans for people; excess deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic will have a negative impact on life expectancy statistics but this may not have a permanent impact. Whilst this data includes 2020 and the pandemic will have undoubtedly affected mortality statistics, life expectancy increases had already stalled before 2020.

Life expectancy in most areas of Foleshill and Longford is below the city average of 82.1 years for females and 78.1 for males, which in turn, is below the national average. There is variation within the area, life expectancy at birth is particularly low in Foleshill East and Little Health, these areas have some of the lowest figures of all areas in the city. Life expectancy at birth figures are nearer the city average in Longford and Foleshill West.

In the Foleshill and Longford area healthy life expectancy (the number of years a person can expect to live in good health) for males and females is below the Coventry’s average of 61.2 and 61.8 respectively. See the table below for the figures for each area, the most recently available data at local level (MSOA) for healthy life expectancy is for 2009-13.

Table: Life expectancy at birth 2016-2020 by MSOA, the most up to date figures available at local level

Source:  The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities 2022, Crown Copyright.

Health inequalities across the city mean that people in more deprived parts of the city not only live shorter lives, but also spend a greater proportion of their shorter lives in poor health; Foleshill and Longford is one of the parts of the city where this is the case. The gap between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy is referred to as the ‘window of need’. It is the average number of years that a person can expect to live with poor health, during which they will be likely to need support from the health and care system. The table below illustrates that the window of need is wider in each of areas in Foleshill and Longford.

Table: Life expectancy (LE) at birth & healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth 2009-2013 by MSOA*.

Source:  The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Crown Copyright.

*The most up to date figures available at local level for healthy life expectancy, data for LE is presented for the same period to accurately calculate the ‘window of need’. The data for 2016-20 LE in the table above is the best to use to understand LE alone. This is the most up to date data at MSOA level, for more up to date information for Coventry City as a whole please see our Citywide profile.

Premature mortality (deaths amongst residents aged under 75 years) is considerably higher in Foleshill and Longford area than the city overall and national average. Premature mortality rates are higher than the city average in Foleshill and Longford for all major causes, they are particularly high for Circulatory Disease, the gap between the local rate and the city average being higher than for other major causes. Premature mortality is defined as deaths amongst resident aged under 75 years of age.

The premature mortality rates by all causes in Foleshill East are the 3rd highest rate out of all the city’s 42 MSOAs. A comparison of premature mortality rates by all causes can be seen in the table below.

Table: Premature mortality rates (deaths aged under 75) by major causes 2016-2020, by MSOA

Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, produced from Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

*SMRs are age standardised death rates that allow mortality rates for areas with different age structures to be compared. ** Deaths which could be avoided by public health or primary care interventions.

What else is happening? What else can be done?

Preventable deaths can be avoided by addressing the social conditions that lead to poor health, such as people’s prospects and opportunities; housing and environment; as well as behavioural and lifestyle changes. These are explored throughout this JSNA.

Health protection

Why is this important?

Health Protection is a term used to cover a set of activities within public health. It is defined as protecting individual, groups and populations from single cases of infectious disease, incidents and outbreaks, and non-infectious environmental hazards such as chemicals and radiation. Monitoring health protection coverage helps to identify possible drops in immunity before levels of disease rise.

What is the local picture? How does it compare?

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Foleshill and Longford, with 10,860 recorded cases between March 2020 and May 2022.This is out of a total population of 34,358 from the 2021 Census, a case rate of 316.1 per 1,000 residents, similar to the overall city rate for this period of 324.8. It may be interesting to note that there are differing case rates by neighbourhoods within Foleshill and Longford; Foleshill West (283.9) and Foleshill East (305.6) have reported rates amongst the lowest in the city, whereas rates amongst people living in Little Health (346.0) and Longford (334.0) are higher than average. However, we should be mindful when comparing the area’s case rate to other areas and looking at the difference between areas in Foleshill and Longford, these official cases do not represent all cases of course, not all people who had COVID-19 in this period will have taken a test or reported its result and some people were asymptomatic so were unaware they had the virus. Therefore, these figures do not count total prevalence and it is difficult to conclude from differing case rates, it may be a result of different testing and reporting rates. 

The number of people who died where COVID-19 was the underlying cause was disproportionately high amongst residents of Foleshill and Longford. Death rates associated with COVID-19 were nationally higher in areas of higher deprivation and amongst many ethnic minority groups, at least during 2020 and 2021 when most of the deaths occurred. Foleshill and Longford, a diverse area with relatively high levels of multiple deprivation, saw significantly higher than average COVID-19 mortality rates.  In the three years 2020 to 2022, 85 residents died with the underlying cause being given as COVID-19, out of a total number of 762 deaths from all causes. When calculating age standardised rates, that allow comparing of deaths rates between areas with different population age profiles, all four areas in Foleshill and Longford had Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMR) for COVID-19 of over 100, meaning that death rates were higher than the national average. Mortality rates experienced in Little Heath and Foleshill East were the highest in the city, at 200 and 227 respectively age adjusted deaths rates were more than twice the level of the national average.  This is perhaps generally in line with expectations given that these areas are amongst the most deprived areas of the city and have relatively high populations of people from ethnic minority groups. 

Many people suffer from ongoing symptoms, from ‘long COVID’; while we don’t know how many local residents suffer from this and if it higher or lower than average, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates the prevalence of self-reported long COVID at 2.92% of all people living in private households in the UK in March 2023.

COVID-19 Vaccination rates in Foleshill and Longford were lower than the city average with 58.2% (21,765 residents aged 12+) receiving their first dose compared to 68.1% citywide and 68.1% (20,019) their second by December 2023 compared to 63.3% citywide. Rates were higher among older residents, with 86.5% of those 65+ receiving the first dose compared to 93.1% for Coventry and 85.4% for dose 2 compared to 92.4% for Coventry.  Overall, lower rates in Foleshill and Longford are partly due to the area having a population made up of higher proportion of people from ethnic minority groups, rates amongst these communities being lower in general everywhere; but also, vaccination uptake rates are lower in all ethnic groups, including White ethnic groups, in this area compared to the city average.

There is some variation between areas in Foleshill and Longford; Foleshill West and Foleshill East are amongst the parts of Coventry with the lowest vaccination coverage, with 51.4% and 52.1% of residents aged 12+ having received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 80.7% and 79.6% of residents aged 65+ having received a first dose; coverage is lower than average in Little Heath at 61.2% of all aged 12+ and 89.2% of all aged 65+, and coverage slightly higher than the city average in Longford at 72.7% of all aged 12+ and 94.0% of all aged 65+.

The pandemic had many impacts, not all directly on residents’ physical health. The restrictions due to the pandemic and the lockdowns, may have had an impact on different aspects of health, not least mental health. The ONS conduct an annual survey where they ask people about their personal wellbeing, it indicates increased levels of anxiety amongst Coventry’s population during the pandemic. The % who gave a score indicating high levels of anxiety increased from 20.6% in 2019/20 to 26.9% in 2020/21.

There are some indications that mental ill health is less prevalent than the average for Coventry in Foleshill and Longford. The proportion of this area's adults diagnosed with depression according to GP registers in 2021/22 is lower than the city average (11.9%) and England average (12.7%). Using the data from all adult patients registered at the 11 GP practices located in the Foleshill and Longford area gives some indication to the prevalence of depression amongst local residents; the prevalence rates of diagnosed depression are lower than the city average for most, not all, GP practices based in the area, and for all patients across the 11 practices prevalence is 9.9% overall. On the other hand, prevalence of diagnosed cases of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses appear slightly higher in this area. In 2021/22 of all adult patients registered at the 11 practices located in the area, 1.07% (808 residents) had this diagnosis compared to 0.95% across the city overall. As part of the Household Survey 2022, a sample of resident were asked seven questions about their mental wellbeing, part of the short ‘Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale' (SWEMWBS). They were asked how often recently they have been feeling: optimistic; useful; relaxed; dealing with problems well; thinking clearly; feeling close to others; able to make up their mind. Their responses are scored and aggregated into a single score. Using this measure indicates that an average proportion of Foleshill and Longford gave responses that created a score indicating relatively low mental wellbeing; 18% scored less than 18 compared to 15% for Coventry overall.

Responses to questions in the Coventry Household Survey 2022 give indications as to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. 32% of residents in Foleshill and Longford worried about the impact the pandemic had on their mental health, lower than the city average of 38%.

51% residents in the area stated that they are worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their financial situation; this percentage is higher than city’s overall percentage of 40%.  

Residents in the area were less worried about the impact of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns on loneliness than the city average. 17% residents are worried about the impact of Covid on loneliness; compared to 28% for the city overall.

Uptake rates in Foleshill and Longford are below the 95% threshold for several different childhood vaccinations, and are lower than average for Coventry, however rates vary considerably across the 11 GPs in the area and between different vaccinations.

• DTaP/IPV/Hib for one-year olds (a vaccination offered to babies to protect them against five serious childhood diseases) range between 75.0% to 98.0%. For most of the GPs this is below the overall city’s uptake rate of 90.3%.
• The rotavirus vaccine uptake (which protects against gastroenteritis) range between 72.5% to 96.1%, compared to 88.5% for the city overall and national rate 89.9%
• MMR for 2-year-olds ranges between 63% to 97.9% compared to the overall city’s uptake rate 88.5% and national rate 89.2%.
• MMR first dose for 5-year-olds, range between 84.7% to 97.9% compared to the overall city’s uptake rate 92.9% and the national rate 93.4%.
• The rates for the second dose for 5-year-old are considerably lower than the first dose, ranging between 69.7% to 93.4%, it is a mixed picture as some of the rates are higher than the other parts of city and the overall city’s rate 84.6% and national rate 85.7%.

Vaccination rates for key cohorts of people eligible to receive the annual seasonal Flu vaccine are lower than the city average in Foleshill and Longford, however rates vary considerably across the 11 GPs in the area. Flu Vaccines help protect against the main types of flu virus circulating and are offered to a range at risk groups of people including children, people aged 65 and over and pregnant women. Flu vaccination in all of these groups in Foleshill and Longford are lower than the city and national rates, particularly for children and people aged 65 and over, rates for pregnant women and those aged under 65 in at risk groups are around average; the rates present a varied picture across the area by GP practice.

The vaccine uptake rates for this area’s GPs, for Coventry overall and England for 2022/23 can be seen in the table below.

Table: Flu vaccine uptake rates 2022/23 by cohort amongst people registered at local GP practices - % of eligible population receiving the vaccine

Source: ImmForm, UK Health Security Agency

HIV remains an important public health concern in Coventry, some areas of Foleshill and Longford have higher rates than average. In 2021, the diagnosed HIV prevalence rate was between 2 to 5 per 1,000 residents in Foleshill East, Little Heath and Longford which is higher than other areas of city, and the overall city and national rates were 3.2 and 2.3 per 1,000. The HIV rate was between 1 to 2 per 1,000 residents living in Foleshill West area, lower than the overall city rate.

Map: Diagnosed HIV prevalence among people of all ages in Coventry by MSOA, 2021

Source: UKHSA HIV and AIDS Reporting System (HARS). https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/static-reports/sexualhealth-reports/2023/E08000026.html?area-name=Coventry#hiv

Despite a falling trend, teenage conception rates in Coventry remain higher than average, and Foleshill and Longford are also high when compared to national averages. In 2021, there were 18.6 conceptions per 1,000 people under the age of 18 for Coventry overall. Longford ward is one of three Coventry wards where rates are higher than average and Foleshill ward’s rates are not significantly different to the Coventry overall. The data does not give a clear picture whether rates are particularly high across Foleshill and Longford as an area but gives tentative indications that they may be and Longford may be an area of focus. 

Map: Under-18s conception in Coventry by ward, compared to England: three-year period between 2018 – 20

Source: Fingertips, data sourced from Conception Statistics, England and Wales, ONS

What else is happening? What else can be done?

Ensuring communities understand and trust public health messages, and that they are accessible and culturally appropriate is vital. Coventry has a very diverse and active voluntary and community sector with many small and well-connected groups, it is also blessed with many community leaders and “go to” people in local neighbourhoods. During the pandemic the Community Resilience Team created Community Messengers who consisted of existing faith, voluntary and community networks in the city. The number of messengers has now grown to 320. The messengers perform two main functions: -

• they help to disseminate into their community the “stay safe” messages.
• they collect and feedback community intelligence which is then used to influence a number of things such as improving our communication materials, focusing our interventions and deploying our local
  teams of COVID-19 advisors.

Young people were included through a partnership with The Positive Youth Foundation, a charity that supports young people in the Coventry area (and who chair the Coventry Youth Partnership), and a series of focus groups held with young people and the council’s communications team helped the development of
specific messaging for young people, including several videos.

Community members now have a platform and a chance to participate directly in shaping how the council and communities engage with each other. This helps to facilitate a community-led response to communications and messaging surrounding several topics.

There is increasing recognition of the key role that places and communities play in our health. Community groups are best placed to address health challenges, because they are trusted and have the networks understanding and legitimacy to do so. Health and care providers need to shift to an ‘enabling’ leadership style, supporting communities to maintain their health and well being by pooling engagement resources and helping to build capacity by sharing skills and facilities with the communities we serve. The One Coventry Plan is designed to work with our communities to ensure that they are able to address their health needs and to reduce inequalities.

Since 2021, Coventry was successfully awarded funding to deliver the Healthy Communities Together (HCT) programme.  This programme is funded by the National Lottery and aims to support local areas to develop effective and sustainable partnerships between the voluntary and community sector, the NHS and local authorities to improve health and wellbeing, reduce health inequalities and empower communities. 

A community-informed and culturally competent approach to healthcare is essential to increasing screening and vaccination rates. Asylum seekers and refugees typically have worse health than the wider migrant and UK-born population. During migration they are vulnerable to environmental threats – e.g., trafficking, and sexual exploitation – and may have experienced gender-based violence – e.g., torture, sexual violence, FGM, and conflict - that lead to health problems. They, and other newly arrived communities, can also spend long periods of their journey with limited access to healthcare which presents challenges in the form of poorly-managed long-term conditions – e.g., diabetes, and hypertension – and untreated communicable diseases such as TB, HIV and STIs. Newly arrived communities are at increased risk of poor mental health too potentially suffering with anxiety, PTSD, and depression. Therefore, newly arrived communities need healthcare on arrival and information and guidance about the NHS, what services are available, and about their health care rights. The impact of language and cultural barriers cannot be understated so services should be culturally appropriate, and trauma informed.

Building on existing health and wellbeing infrastructures having a collaborative partnership approach, bringing together residents’ experience and partners’ skills and assets, should be taken to strengthen health and wellbeing in communities. An example of this is Vaccinating Coventry – a partnership group with membership from a range of council teams with a focus on improving vaccine uptake inequality across the city. While vaccine uptake across Coventry and Warwickshire has been good, early in the vaccination programme data started to reveal areas of Coventry with much lower uptake, particularly among minority ethnic groups and those living in more deprived areas. The work of the group is linked tightly with wider COVID-19 prevention inequality work, focused upon access to testing, understanding of and adherence to national guidelines.

Demand and access

What is the local picture? How does it compare?

Foleshill and Longford has good access to health services, with most residents being able to reach a GP and a pharmacy within a few minutes. There are 50 GP surgeries in the city, 11 of which are based within Foleshill and Longford. Most residents are within a 15-minute walk of a GP practice. People living in parts of Little Heath, and the northern part of Longford area have more limited access. The dark green areas on the map below indicate residents are within 5-minute walk to the GP, the light green area represents 15 minutes’ walk:

Map: Locations of GP practices around the area of Foleshill and Longford, with walking distances highlighted

There are 14 pharmacies in the local area, Coventry and Warwickshire have 197 community pharmacies and, 91 pharmacies in the city. Most residents of the area are within a 15-minute walk to a pharmacy, however there are some parts in Longford that are slightly further. The dark green areas are within a 5-minute walk to a pharmacy, the light green area represents 15-minute walk. All pharmacies in the area are accessed within 15 minutes by public transport.

Map: Locations of pharmacies around the area of Foleshill and Longford, with walking distances highlighted

Source: Shape Place tool, Department of Health & Social Care

Another way of understanding access to primary health care in the area is to summarise the total GP resource available at the 11 practices located in the area.  The number of staff including doctors, nurses and other direct patient care staff totals 60 across the practices located in the area.

When comparing this to the number of patients registered at the practices, this amounts to 10.2 direct patient care staff per 10,000 patients, similar to the Coventry average of 11.0.

We can understand satisfaction with GPs in Coventry by examining responses to the national GP patient survey by Coventry patients annually between 2019 and 2023. It shows reducing satisfaction levels amongst Foleshill and Longford residents, reflecting Coventry’s overall average. In the 2023 survey, when asked ‘Overall, how would you describe your experience of your GP practice?’ 69% of respondents from this area said their experience of their GP practice is good or very good, down from 78% in 2019 and slightly lower than the city’s rate of 71%. When asked ‘Generally, how easy is it to get through to someone at your GP practice on the phone?  55% of respondents felt it was easy, lower than the city overall at 59% but higher than 50% for England overall.

When asked ‘How satisfied are you with the general practice appointment times that are available to you?’ 58% of respondents said satisfied or very satisfied down from 62% in 2019, similar to the city's overall rate of 58% and better than better than 53% for England overall. Whilst satisfaction has been reducing, as it has across England, this data does indicate that access to GPs, in terms of getting through to the surgery by phone and getting the appointments patients’ want, is better than the national average.

What else is happening? What else can be done?

Some residents in Foleshill and Longford express frustration with the difficulty of booking GP appointments. One resident described the process as stressful, noting that “GP surgeries are becoming more and more useless that's why the A&E is so busy. You need to call GP at 8 am in the morning to get an appointment if you call 10 past 8 that's it they won't give you an appointment...” The lack of flexibility in scheduling is another issue, as patients must accept whatever time slot is available, often without a specific time for when a GP will call. This forces patients to wait all day for a call that, if missed, results in a lost appointment. Consequently, many turn to A&E for care instead, adding to the strain on emergency services.

Culturally aware services and clearer signposting are crucial in meeting the diverse needs of local communities. For instance, the NHS services provided at the Coventry Muslim Resource Centre are tailored to be more accessible and culturally sensitive to the Muslim community. This approach makes it easier for residents to seek medical help in an environment they trust and feel comfortable in.

Another example is the partnership between Foleshill Women’s Training, midwifery services, health visitors, and GPs to raise awareness of cervical screenings among women from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Due to cultural stigmas, language barriers, or lack of awareness, many women from these communities may avoid or delay screenings. By collaborating with trusted local organisations and professionals, healthcare services can better reach these communities, offering education and support in a way that respects cultural norms and increases health engagement. These initiatives not only improve healthcare access but also address health inequalities by providing care that acknowledges and respects cultural differences.

A social gradient approach focusing on people’s prospects and opportunities, housing and environment and lifestyle factors can help improve outcomes, reduce inequality and reducing premature mortality.

The citywide JSNA identified that a culturally competent approach that recognises and makes best use of the assets of the city’s diverse communities is essential. This includes working with local community and religious groups to encourage take-up of vaccination, diagnosis and screening programmes

Health visitors can help support residents to meet their health and care needs – and reduce avoidable demand on A&E. Health visitors are very active in the area and having support within the community made them feel more at ease. Having different support groups has encouraged socialisation and is seen as a good way for people to meet other people in similar situations to themselves. Further work can be done with the health visiting service, perhaps, including out of hours service, will help people manage their own health problems – without needing to attend hospital.

As part of the Adult Social Care Service, the council are working more closely with other organisations to improve the outcomes for adults. The Improving Lives programme is a partnership programme, led by Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System, bringing together University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust and the Council to work as one service. It aims to enhance patient experiences, prevent hospital admissions, and improve hospital discharge processes. The program focuses on effective care through three sub-programs: Interfaces, Hospital Processes at UHCW, and One Coventry Integrated Team. Its key goals are to promote independent living and simplify care delivery through partner collaboration.

Working together in partnership is vital to delivering services to residents. The Working Together Group; an alliance of CWPT, VSCE, and Primary Care in Coventry and Warwickshire, aims to strengthen partnership working within the voluntary, community, faith and not for profit social enterprise sector.

Lifestyles

Why is this important?

Individual behaviours, such as eating enough fruits and vegetables, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity can affect health. These lifestyle behaviours are strongly influenced by the environment in which people live. For example, people living in a ‘food desert’, with limited access to affordable and healthy food, are more likely to eat unhealthily; an unsafe environment is likely to discourage people from walking or cycling; and social and cultural influences, including friendship groups, advertising and media, play an important role in determining people’s lifestyles.

These lifestyle risk factors – poor diet, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking – are all linked to ill health and premature death. Having a combination of risk factors contributes to greater ill health. People facing poorer social circumstances are more at risk of having multiple risk factors, exacerbating avoidable differences in health.

What is the local picture? How does it compare?

The number of residents that smoke in Foleshill and Longford remains higher than the city average. In the Household Survey 2022, 18% said they currently smoke cigarettes; this percentage is same as it was in the 2018 survey and is higher than the city’s rate of 11%.

Residents in Foleshill East were more likely to smoke (32%) than in Foleshill West (15%), Little Heath (9%) and Longford (9%). 8% said they use e-cigarettes compared to 7% for the city overall.  

Smoking has been linked to causing cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung diseases. It can also affect the respiratory and circulatory system.

Alcohol consumption in Foleshill and Longford appears to be lower than the city average, however hospital admissions for alcohol related conditions is significantly worse compared to the city overall. Alcohol consumption in Foleshill and Longford is lower than the city average. Coventry Household Survey 2022 asks residents about their drinking habits, when asked if they drank any alcohol on two or more days in a typical week, 12% of respondents said they did compared to 25% for the city overall.

Of those that do drink alcohol, 9% said they drink more than 2-3 units of alcohol on two or more days in a typical week, compared to 24% respondents from the whole city.

Alcohol is causing disproportionate harm to health in Foleshill and Longford. Hospital admissions rates for alcohol-related conditions are significantly higher than the Coventry average, particularly in Foleshill East.

Table: Rates of admissions to hospital due to alcohol related conditions (defined in two ways, broadly and narrowly due to alcohol) by place of residence, 2016/17 to 2020/21

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) NHS Digital

The importance of eating healthy food remains well recognised by the majority of residents, but there are indications that some aspects of diet are poorer in this area overall and the price of food is a particular concern for residents in Foleshill and Longford. 10% of residents surveyed said they eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables in a typical day, compared to 21% citywide. 43% said they eat takeaways once a week compared to 28% for the city overall.

In 2022, Household Survey residents were provided with a series of statements relating to eating habits. The responses give a few insights: the importance of eating healthy food remains well recognised by the majority of residents in Foleshill and Longford area (95% compared to 93% overall city); being able to cook from scratch every night is becoming more challenging for some, both due to time pressures and by not having everything needed in their kitchen to do so (67% in this area of city compared to 81% for overall city still state that they have what is needed). The proportion of residents who stated that price is the most important factor when buying food has significantly increased to 99% in this area of the city, compared to 64% for the city overall, a potential impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

Using data from the National Child Measurement Programme for the 3 years covering 2019/20 to 2021/22 the obesity rate in reception for children in Foleshill East and Foleshill West is higher than the city and regional rate, in Longford it is lower. Obesity rates for children in reception (aged 4 to 5) vary across neighbourhoods. In Longford the rate is lower than the city average at 8.3% and Little Heath is similar to the city average at 10.6%. Rates in Foleshill East (12.5%) and Foleshill West (13.3%) are higher than overall city’s rate (10.8%) and in England (9.9%).

Despite lower rates of obesity in reception, by the time a child reaches Year 6 (aged 10 to 11) in Longford obesity rates are significantly higher (32.1%) than the city average (24.8%). All other areas are also higher than the city average and England (21.6%). Foleshill West at 29.6%, Foleshill East 28.1% and Little Heath 26.7% are all higher than the city average and England (21.6%)

The obesity (including severe obesity) rates are listed in the table below:

Source: National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), NHS Digital

Overall levels of physical activity are lower than the national average in Coventry overall, and Foleshill and Longford is an area with relatively low rates. The Coventry Household Survey asks residents about levels of physical activity with three questions based on different levels of intensity of activity; for all levels the proportion of local residents who said they did none of that activity was higher than the city average.  19% of respondents from Foleshill and Longford said they did no ’everyday activity’ in the last week, higher than 11% for the city overall.  30% said they did no ‘active recreation’ in the last week, higher than 24% for the city overall. 53% said they took part in no sporting activity in the last week, higher than 41% for the city overall.

What else is happening? What else can be done?

Priorities around improving access to parks and green spaces, reducing loneliness and social isolation, hyper local community interventions showcasing services to improve health and wellbeing support and promote communities’ health and lifestyles. Partnerships between the local sport centres, GoFoleshill, and community organisations can help encourage people to access sports, leisure and exercise activities. While the neighbourhood does not have a great amount of green space, the partnership has helped enable and encourage people to step out of their neighbourhood borders; build community cohesion and promote physical activity.

Go Foleshill, Positive Youth Foundation and FWT have partnered together to provide ‘Women’s Walk’. A walk to encourage women to explore their local greenspaces through Longford Park.

To address health inequalities and establish an environment that promotes and preserves good health, it is important to acknowledge that lifestyle factors are rooted in socioeconomic conditions. Foleshill and Longford have an abundance of groups working in the area to provide support to residents. It is important to continue to address access to affordable; lowering risky behaviours by changing social norms and connecting people to peer support groups, such as encouraging them to use health check services, sexual health check services, stop smoking services and improving their access to drop-in sessions for psychological therapy and child clinics in the neighbourhood.