AN elected regional assembly could have a leading role in tackling the North-East's poor health record, unions say.

The assembly would have no control over the provision and running of hospitals and GP surgeries, but it would have responsibilities in public health such as promoting healthier lifestyles.

Assembly campaigners said it would enable the region to request better funding for the area's health services.

The main healthcare unions -The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Amicus, Unison and the GMB -are backing the Yes 4 the North-East campaign because they believe it could help reduce the region's poor record on life expectancy, teenage pregnancy, death rates and chronic illness.

RCN Northern board chairwoman Wendy Burke said an assembly would be able to tailor campaigns to regional needs rather than follow London-set targets that were sometimes inappropriate for the North-East.

Karen Reay, of Amicus, said the union believed that the North-East's health inequalities would be tackled best by regional decision-makers.

Liz Twist, of Unison, said: "The North-East is the most unhealthy region in England and we desperately need to do something to change this, otherwise the children and young people of the region will grow up and continue this trend."

A spokesman for the North-East Says No campaign said: "What is the point of backing an assembly which has not got the power to improve hospitals and schools or create jobs? The assembly is a waste of money and people should vote no."

Women encouraged to have bigger say on issue

WOMEN are being encouraged to have a bigger say in the North-East's future.

The North-East Women's Forum is holding events around the region in the run-up to the vote on an elected regional assembly on November 4, explaining what an assembly will do and how women could benefit from devolution.

One seminar is being held at the St Mary's Centre, in Corporation Street, Middlesbrough, from 5pm to 7pm today, when all women are welcome.

Organisers of the meeting said devolved governments in Scotland and Wales have seen a massive increase in female decision-makers.

Teesside-born opera singer Suzannah Clarke, who supports the group, said: "I am extremely concerned with issues surrounding equality, as I believe that there is still a lot of work to do.

"After years of promising action, women are still at a great disadvantage in our society and something must be done.

"With the possibility of a regional assembly, we have a new and exciting opportunity in the North-East.

"Fifty-one per cent of our population are women, and academic achievement of women is higher than that of men, so why should a regional assembly not be 50 per cent of women?

"In the North-East, we have many women to be proud of -we have sports stars, musicians, actresses, businesswomen, politicians etc, but there are still too few.

"We have even more talent that we should tap into. We must give greater encouragement to those women we already have who are leading the way forward, and we must create more opportunities for future generations of women."