Key Messages
Demographics and communities
Foleshill and Longford is home to a vibrant yet complex community that requires a nuanced approach to address its diverse needs and challenges.
Having a culturally competent health and social care workforce is particularly important in this diverse area and efforts could be directed towards fostering a sense of community, addressing linguistic diversity, and supporting voluntary and community organisations that support residents.
The age profile, with more children and fewer elderly residents, has implications for understanding health needs in the area, despite there being fewer than average elderly residents, the needs of these residents cannot be ignored and ensuring that there are services available for these residents is vital.
Prospects
It is important to address disparities in child development, improve educational opportunities, and address economic and social issues through collaborative community-driven approaches.
In Foleshill and Longford, there are notable discrepancies in child development compared to Coventry and national averages. Targeted interventions can enhance early childhood development. Increasing awareness and access to funded early years childcare can ensure more children benefit from early education programs.
With higher rates of unemployment and unemployment benefits being claimed, its vital to ensure there is a holistic offer of adult education programs to improve digital skills and overall educational attainment among residents is crucial. Encouraging and supporting local businesses, fostering economic growth, and facilitating collaboration between schools and employers can enhance career opportunities for students.
Community-driven initiatives, including health visitors, family hubs, and voluntary organisations, play a key role in addressing local challenges. Strengthening partnerships between local authorities, community organisations, and businesses is vital for a coordinated approach to community development.
Housing and environment
Housing challenges are prevalent in Foleshill and Longford, marked by lower homeownership rates, higher private renting, lower house prices, and a higher likelihood of overcrowded households. Homelessness rates are also higher than the city average, and fuel poverty rates are relatively high, with housing quality being identified as a contributing factor. The promotion and support of energy efficiency programmes remain crucial in alleviating some of these effects.
Disparities in access to green spaces are evident between Foleshill and Longford, with residents in Foleshill having significantly less access to greenspace than other areas of the city. However, there is a lot of collaboration within the community to protect existing green spaces and a desire to maintain and create new ones.
There is a notable decline in satisfaction with the local area, with residents in Foleshill and Longford expressing discontent, particularly regarding the perceived decline in liveability. The presence of major roads contributes to poorer air quality in Foleshill and Longford, however there are initiatives taking place to address this.
Recorded crime rates are higher than the city average in Foleshill and Longford, with an increasing trend over the past five years. Residents also report lower feelings of safety, however they felt that an increased visibility of police in the community could enhance feelings of safety and deter crime. Community concerns are also raised of issues such as fly tipping, illegal parking and antisocial behaviour.
Initiatives to address environmental concerns, enhance green spaces, improve housing quality, and tackle crime issues present opportunities for collaborative efforts with communities to enhance overall well-being.
Health and wellbeing
The Foleshill and Longford area faces notable health disparities, therefore a social gradient approach focusing on people’s prospects and opportunities, housing and environment and lifestyle factors can help improve outcomes, reduce inequality and reduce premature mortality. COVID-19 provided an illustration of how health inequalities impact on local residents, death rates associated with COVID-19 were nationally higher in areas of higher deprivation and amongst many ethnic minority groups; Foleshill and Longford, a diverse area with relatively high levels of multiple deprivation, saw significantly higher than average COVID-19 mortality rates. While the pandemic impacted this area disproportionately in terms of mortality, a relatively low proportion of residents have received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccination rates, especially for childhood vaccinations, are below the recommended threshold in Foleshill and Longford a continuation of targeted outreach programs, collaboration with local institutions, and increased awareness are essential to improve vaccination rates.
While access to health services is generally good, concerns about satisfaction and potential strain on emergency services highlight the need for improvements in healthcare accessibility and responsiveness.
Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours contribute to health challenges, influenced by socioeconomic factors. Social prescribing programs connecting individuals with non-medical support services can address these issues.