HEALTH bosses in Darlington have set themselves tough targets to reduce disease rates in the town by 2010.

In an ambitious report, Darlington's Primary Care Trust sets out plans to reduce heart disease and strokes among under-75s by 40 per cent, cancer by 20 per cent and suicide rates by 20 per cent over the next five years.

The trust will also aim to reduce obesity, sexually-transmitted infections and under-18 conception rates and increase life expectancy in the same period.

It also sets out plans to reduce the 18-week waiting time from GP referral to treatment.

The trust's vision has been designed to meet Government directives, and has been boosted by a £21.3m cash windfall from the Government over the next three years.

The multi-million pound handout, a budget increase of eight per cent, will be spent on preventative healthcare.

The health strategy aims to: improve the health of everyone living in Darlington.

It also aims to cut the number of premature deaths, deliver local services that are accessible to all, improve care for the most vulnerable sections of society and offer more choice for patients about where they are treated.

A rehabilitation centre for elderly people and a health clinic with a dental suite will also be built.

A senior manager has been appointed at the trust, who will strive to prevent the town's residents falling ill.

Jonathan Smith, who is the new head of health improvement, will lead a team of specialists in public health, including healthy lifestyle officers, mental health, sexual health and stop smoking experts.

He said: "It is unviable to simply treat people when they fall sick.

"So instead we are becoming a health improvement service.

"In partnership with other organisations in Darlington, I am confident we can make a difference and begin to turn things around."