Powys Teaching Local Health Board: Demography Profile Summary (PDF, 402KB)
This web page was produced as part of the Demography Profile 2009 and as such contains information correct at the time of publication (Autumn 2009). For more up to date information, the interactive map on the Observatory homepage contains a broader set of indicators and is regularly updated. Additional information is also available from the topic based pages.
- Introduction
- Population
- Projected population change
- Black and Minority Ethnic Population
- Births
- Life expectancy
- Deprivation
- Disability & carers
- Older people living alone
- Deaths
Legend
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 Data with commentary |  Glossary |
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 Methods and notes |
Introduction
Powys Teaching Local Health Board (LHB), covering a quarter of the landmass of Wales (5,196 square km), is the most sparsely populated LHB area. It is the only LHB whose boundaries are coterminous with a single local authority and whose boundaries have not changed in 2009.
| Interactive map of area | Health Maps Wales can be used to see the location of acute hospitals as well as LHB, local (or unitary) authority boundaries. Analyses are presented at small area level for a number of indicators including upper super output area (USOA), middle super output area (MSOA) & lower super output area (LSOA). |
| Area size Square Kilometres, 2007 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 5,196 20,780 244,168 |
Population
Mid Year Population Estimates
Population estimates are produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and take into account births, deaths, and an estimate of migration between the last census and the middle of the current year.[1]
The population of Powys Teaching Local Health Board (LHB), area is estimated to have been 132 thousand in 2007, or just under 5 per cent of the Welsh population.
Mid year population estimatesThousands, 2007
| Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 132.0 2,980.0 60,975.0 |
References
1. National Statistics. Population estimates. A short guide to population estimates (
Registered Populations
Around 135,200 individuals are registered with Powys Teaching LHB general practices [or equivalent before October 2009] with a Welsh residence; a further 3,300 individuals with an English residence are also registered with the LHB’s practices. Further information and commentary is available.
Population Density
Population density provides a measure of the number of people living in an area. It is calculated by dividing the population by the geographical area in square km. Population density is higher in urban areas, and lower in rural areas.
Powys Teaching Local Health Board (LHB), covering a quarter of the landmass of Wales (5,196 square km), is the most sparsely populated local health board (LHB) area, with 25 persons per square km. The next most sparsely populated LHB is Hywel Dda at 70 persons per square km.
Projected Population Change
Population projections are based on assumptions; they indicate what may happen should recent trends in births, deaths and migration continue. [1]
Current projections see a rise in the older population (75 years and over) of Powys Teaching LHB residents from 13,000 (10 per cent of total population) in 2006 to 28,000 (18 per cent of total population) in 2031. The increase in the number of older people is likely to cause a rise in chronic conditions such as circulatory and respiratory diseases and cancers. Meeting the needs of these individuals will be a key challenge for the local health boards. In the current economic climate, the relative (and absolute) increase in economically dependent and, in some cases, care-dependent populations will pose particular challenges to communities.
Population projections | Number | % change | |
| Projected increase/decrease in total population from 2006 to 2031
| Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 23,100 330,000 10,500,000 | +17.6% +11.1% +17.4% |
References
1. Welsh Assembly Government. Local Authority Population Projections for Wales (2006-based): Summary Report - (Cardiff: WAG; 2008. [accessed 19th May 2009])
Black and minority ethnic population
Every NHS organisation has a statutory duty to promote race equality. Not only may ethnicity reflect specific language and cultural needs but also health needs. People from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds are more likely to come from low income families, suffer poorer living conditions and gain lower levels of educational qualifications compared to white populations. [1] In addition, certain BME groups have higher rates of some health conditions. For example, South Asian and Caribbean-descended populations have a substantially higher risk of diabetes; Bangladeshi-descended populations are more likely to avoid alcohol but to smoke. [2]
Figures from the 2001 Census show that in
In Powys Teaching LHB, the BME population is 0.9 per cent.
The effect of migration since the 2001 Census is more difficult to quantify. There is no single dataset that holds information on all immigrants and there are many different definitions and categories of ‘migrants’. The NPHS is currently working on some analyses of people registering with a General Practitioner in Wales, who have made no such registration previously in the UK and whose place of birth is outside of the UK. These analyses are more akin to incidence than prevalence, albeit with certain limitations, and indicate post 2001 Census demographic and temporal trends, many of which may predate the more recent coverage of inward migration.
Black and Minority Ethnic Population% people who are non white, 2001 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 0.9% 2.1% 7.9% |
References
- National Public Health Service for Wales [online], 2008. Black and Ethnic Minority Population
[accessed 20th May 2009] - Health and Social Care Information Centre [online], 2005. Health survey for England 2004:the health of minority ethnic groups – headline tables. [accessed 20th May 2009]
- National Statistics [online], 2004., Focus on Ethnicity and Identity Age/SexDistribution Non-White groups are younger. [accessed 19th May 2009]
General fertility rate
General fertility rate (GFR) is a measure of current fertility levels and denotes the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15-44. Although GFR takes account of the age and sex distribution of the population, it makes no allowance for different sized cohorts of women at childbearing ages.
The Powys Teaching LHB area GFR is currently higher than the Wales rate and is broadly similar to the Welsh pattern. In 2007, Powys had the highest GFR of the seven Welsh Local Health Boards.
General Fertility RateLive births per 1,000 females (aged 15-44 yrs), 2007 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 61.4 59.4 61.6 |
Life expectancy
Life expectancy at birth in the UK has reached its highest level on record for both males and females. A newborn baby boy could expect to live 77.2 years and a newborn baby girl 81.5 years if mortality rates remain the same as they were in 2005–07. Females continue to live longer than males; however the gap is narrowing. Over the past 25 years the gap has narrowed from 6.0 years to 4.3 years. [1]
Figures for the population of Powys Teaching LHB show that life expectancy is higher than that of Wales. Powys Teaching LHB area has the highest life expectancy for both males and females of any of the new Local Health Boards in Wales.
Life expectancy at birth | Males (years) | Females (years) | |
| Persons born between 2005-07 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 78.6 76.8 77.2 | 82.2 81.2 81.5 |
References
- Office for National Statistics (2009). Life Expectancy at birth. [accessed 2nd Jun 2009]
Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD)
Geographically based deprivation measures can be used to show inequalities in health and suggest areas likely to most need measures to improve health and manage ill-health. The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2008, is produced at a small area level called Lower Super Output Area (LSOA), and is derived from a broad range of factors.
Within the LHB there are areas of deprivation, particularly in the more urban areas of Welshpool and Newtown. Three out of the 80 LSOAs in the LHB area (4 per cent) are among the most deprived fifth in Wales with 11 (14 per cent) in the least deprived fifth. However, within less deprived areas there are often pockets of hidden deprivation.
Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD)% lower super output areas (LSOAs) in most deprived 5th of Wales, 2008 (2.5MB) | Powys Teaching LHB Wales | 4% 20% |
Disability and carers
People with a Physical/Sensory Disability
NHS bodies have duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 to have due regard to the promotion of equality of opportunity, promotion of positive attitudes towards people with disability and encouraging participation of disabled persons in public life. [1] The original 1995 Act definition of disability is ‘a physical or mental impairment which has substantial and long-term adverse effects on [the] ability to carry out normal day to day activities’. [2]
Many people with physical and sensory impairments live completely independently, however disability can sometimes necessitate increased need for informal help and health care and long-term care needs and costs. [2] Although not an inevitable consequence of ageing, increasing age is commonly associated with increasing disability and loss of independence, with functional impairments such as loss of mobility, sight and hearing. [3]
The term physical/sensory disability covers visual, hearing and physical impairments; the Register of Physical/Sensory Disability is compiled from local authority registers of physically or sensory disabled people in Wales aged 18 years or over. These include people registered under Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 who are normally resident in the local authority. Registration is voluntary and not all people with disabilities choose to register. The registers are therefore not a reliable guide to the prevalence of physical and sensory disability in the population. [4] The higher proportions of people registered could be reflective of the demographics of the local area, for example an older resident population. It could also be influenced by differences in local authority procedures and their capacity for registering people as having a physical/sensory disability.
There are 7,867 people registered on the Register of Physical/Sensory Disability in the Powys Teaching LHB area.
Physically/Sensory Disabled PersonsNumber of people on LA register of physically/sensory disabled persons, 2007-08 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales | 7,867 81,823 |
References
- Office of Public Sector Information. Disability Discrimination Act 2005. [accessed 26th May 2009]
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Chapter 50. London :HMSO; 1995. [accessed 3rd Jun 2009]
- Welsh Assembly Government 2006. National Service Framework for Older People in Wales. [accessed 4th Jun 2009]
- Local Government Data Unit [accessed 28th May 2009]
Carers
Research shows that unpaid carers, that is, family, friends and neighbours provide around 70 per cent of care in the community. [1] Changes in marriage patterns, increases in single person households, lone parent families and mobility among family members are likely to reduce the availability of informal care. This is especially the case when older people become sick, disabled, frail or vulnerable. A decline in the number of informal carers is likely to increase the demand for statutory health and social services. As life expectancy increases there is a risk that carers may continue their caring roles for much longer periods. They may also be caring for people with multiple and increasingly complex needs. [1]
Local authorities record the number of carers (aged 16 and over) who provide or intend to provide a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for another individual aged 18 or over. This definition is taken from the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000. [3] Once identified, carers may be offered an assessment to determine their need for services and payments in lieu of the provision of services to them. [2]
These figures relate to number of carers identified during a 12 month period. The number may not reflect the true extent of the caring role in the community as some people may not identify themselves to local authority services as a carer. The higher proportions of people identified as a carer could be reflective of the demographics of the local area, for example an older resident population. It could also be influenced by local authority procedures and their capacity to identify individuals as carers.
There were 327 identified carers in the Powys Teaching LHB area between 1st April 2007 and 31st March 2008.
CarersNumber of carers (aged 16 and over) identified during a 12 month period, 2007-08 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales | 327 9,262 |
References
- Welsh Assembly Government 2007. Carers’ Strategy for Wales Action Plan 2007. [accessed 26th May 2009]
- Local Government Data Unit 2009. [accessed 2nd Jun 2009]
- Office of Public Sector Information 2009. Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000.. [accessed 2nd June 2009]
Older people living alone
Living arrangements are important because older people living alone may place a greater demand on personal social services compared to older people with other living arrangements.[1] Greater financial independence, improvements in health and attitudes towards living in communal establishments contribute to the increasing proportion of older people living independently.[2] This is particularly important in the context of recent population trends such as the increase in the proportion of older divorced people. Such trends are closely linked with an increasing need for care facilities outside the family.[2]
Figures from the 2001 Census report that in the Powys Teaching LHB area 42.4 per cent of older people live alone compared to 43.0 per cent in Wales as a whole.
Older people living alone% people aged 75 and over living alone, 2001 | Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 42.4% 43.0% 43.7% |
References
- National Public Health Service for Wales (2006) Health Needs Assessment 2006: Older People. Cardiff; NPHS. [accessed 26th Mar 2010]
- Tomassini, C. (2005) Chapter 2: Family and living arrangements. In: National Statistics, ed. Focus on older people. London: National Statistics pp.11-20. [accessed 14th May 2009]
Deaths
Whilst death is an inevitability of life, examining deaths occurring before they might reasonably be expected can demonstrate inequalities in health outcomes. Often these deaths occur for largely preventable reasons, [1] for example as the result of tobacco smoking. Higher rates of death are often associated with deprivation.[2]
Figures for 2007 show the mortality rate in people less than 75 years old in the Powys Teaching LHB area to be substantially lower than the rate for Wales as a whole, the lowest of all seven new Local Health Boards and the second lowest of all local authorities. Single year rates for local authorities may exhibit substantial fluctuations which could be due to nothing more than random variation and the relatively small populations involved.
Notes: All causes of death are included here, which may include deaths which could not have been preventable. The analysis uses the method of direct age standardisation, based on the widely used European standard population. The rates produced by this method are not only adjusted to take account of varying local population structures but are directly comparable with each other, be that between years or between areas. Survival until age 75 has been used for calculation of premature mortality, [3] and under 75 European age standardised death rates for certain conditions are used for Welsh Health Gain targets.
Deaths under the | Rate | 95% Confidence interval | |
| Age standardised (441 KB) | Powys Teaching LHB Wales UK | 255.8 332.1 307.1 | 230.9 – 282.6 325.9 – 338.5 305.8 – 308.5 |
References
- Wheller L, Baker A, Griffiths C & Rooney C (2007). Trends in avoidable mortality in England and Wales 1993-2005. Health Statistics Quarterly, 34. ONS: London
- Uren Z & Fitzpatrick J (2001) Analysis of mortality by deprivation and cause of death. Geographical Variations in Health – Decennial Supplement DS16. ONS: London.
- Wheller L, Baker A & Griffiths C (2006) Trends in premature mortality in England and Wales 1950-2004. Health Statistics Quarterly, 31. ONS: London.
© 2009 Wales Centre for Health and the National Public Health Service for Wales.
Material contained in this profile may be reproduced without prior permission provided it is done so accurately and is not used in a misleading context. Acknowledgement to the Wales Centre for Health and the National Public Health Service for Wales to be stated. Typographical copyright lies with the Wales Centre for Health and the National Public Health Service for Wales.