A THREE-YEAR plan was launched yesterday to improve the health of people living in an area dubbed one of the unhealthiest places in the UK.

The Health Improvement Programme, created by health officials and local authorities, aims to stop the decline of life on Teesside.

There are more deaths from heart disease, cancer, strokes and suicide in the Teesside area than the national average, and the overall death rate in the area is the 13th highest in the UK.

The new programme aims to tackle a wide range of causes and results of ill health by encouraging people to live healthier lives and providing the best services to help them achieve good health.

Chairman of the Tees Health Authority Tony Waites said: "What we have to do is persuade the population to do a lot more to improve their health.

"We are not going to solve the health problems of Teesside in the next three years, but we are going to start tackling those problems."

It has been estimated that it will take seven to ten years for Teesside to catch up with the rest of the country in some of the main health areas, but as long as a generation for the full effects of a change in people's lifestyles to be realised.

Teesside currently has the sixth highest cancer death rate and 12th highest number of deaths from heart disease in the country.

Another major problem is drug use and the exceptionally high number of people in Teesside using hard drugs.

Director of public health, Professor Paul Johnstone, said: "We have the highest number of young drug-users going through our services and some of the highest teenage pregnancies in the country.

"Smoking in Teesside is the single biggest risk to health and so we are looking to help people quit smoking, especially young people, pregnant women and the disadvantaged.

"We have to catch up with the rest of the country."

Other aims of the new programme include cutting waiting lists and ensuring no one waits more than a year for a hospital admission.

Prof Johnston said: "This is the first time we have had the chance to look at health and health care in one holistic unit.

"It is not just dealing with services but looking at root causes."