10 October 25
Health, wellbeing and care

Trafford reports progress in public health as hospital admissions, smoking rates and care home placements fall

Trafford’s Health and Wellbeing Board has welcomed major progress in improving the health of residents – with new figures showing reductions in alcohol-related hospital admissions for young people, smoking rates among pregnant women, and permanent admissions to care homes.

The figures come from the Board’s 2024/25 Annual Report, which reviews key successes and challenges over the past year.

Headline improvements include:

  • Alcohol harm reduction: Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions in under-18s are now almost half the England average (12 per 100,000 compared with 22.6 nationally). Ninety-five young people received structured alcohol treatment – 39 more than the previous year – alongside wider outreach, education and holistic support.
  • Smoking cessation: 709 residents were supported to quit smoking, with 19 per cent reporting success. Just 3.8 per cent of pregnant women smoked at the time of delivery, well within the national target of six per cent or below.
  • Better Care Fund (BCF) performance: The BCF brings health and social care together to help people live independently for longer. Latest figures show strong progress:
     
    • Almost 93 per cent of people discharged from hospital went home – above target.
    • Falls-related hospital admissions for over-65s fell from 2,147 to 1,936 per 100,000.
    • Permanent admissions to residential care dropped to 526 per 100,000, beating the target of 591.
       
  • Healthy weight: 80.2 per cent of reception-age children and 66.3 per cent of Year 6 children are a healthy weight – both better than the national averages.
  • Infection prevention: Local rates of C. difficile infections fell by 19 per cent, while national rates rose by 33–40 per cent. Trafford’s ranking for broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing improved from 106th to 63rd place nationally.

Helen Gollins, Director of Public Health at Trafford Council, said:

“These results are a testament to the hard work of our staff and partners across health, care, and the community. We’ve made real progress in tackling some of the biggest health challenges facing our residents – but we know there is more to do, especially in reducing health inequalities and improving prevention.”

The Board will build on this progress in 2025/26 by focusing on prevention, tackling health inequalities through the Fairer Trafford programme, and giving communities more say in improving health and wellbeing.