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Life expectation (Possilpark & Ruchill)
Figure 23
Statistics show the average man dies at age 66; The lowest life expectancy of any neighbourhood in the whole of the UK - 13 years below average. For many Glaswegians Possilpark has a reputation, one presented deeply by its residents, built on images of drug addicts and alcoholics clustered on street corners, of gaunt men and women with hardened, ruined faces queuing outside pharmacies at 7:30am for their methadone handouts. Balmore’s patients live with the third worst deprivation levels of all GP surgeries in Scotland. 4 in 10 of Balmore’s 3511 patients have a chronic disease, double the Scottish average. Almost 200 patients with a coronary disease, at 5.7% against the Scottish rate of 4.2%. More than 300 have a history of depression, nearly 50% higher than the Scottish average. Possilpark’s dire health statistics may be closely linked to its depopulation, with those in better jobs leaving for other places, so amplifying the scale of the health problems among those who stay. viii The low life expectancy in Possilpark is also featured in a journal article and in one of the episodes of ‘Darren McGarvey’s Scotland documentary - Glasgow - Dying Young’. The episode explores how the decline of industry and the explosion of drugs in the 1980s has blighted this community.
