Bedford Borough has circa 193,660 patients registered across its 17 GP Practices.
Two thirds of our population live in our urban centres with the remaining living in many of our rural areas. Bedford Borough is mostly urban, containing the towns of Bedford, Kempston and the Wixams which is new town development, surrounded by a rural area with many villages.
Population projections: Based on Office of National Statistics figures population growth will increase from approx. 149,300 in 2022 to 165,440 by 2043. Bedford Borough’s population is growing rapidly and growth is forecast to continue at a level which places the Borough among the fastest growing areas in England which in part due to high levels of in migration, including international migration.
Bedford Borough’s People
There are significant ethnic minority communities with more than 100 languages being spoken in Bedford. The borough has seen large scale migration over recent years, particular from Eastern Europe, as well as Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Bedford Borough’s Health
Deprivation and the life expectancy gap between Bedford’s most and least deprived areas is 10 years for women and 4.2 years for men. In the most deprived areas which are Cauldwell, Castle, Harpur, Kempston North and Goldington wards were two thirds of children are living in poverty.
The rate of stillbirths in Bedford Borough is high compared to the national average.
Preventable deaths from cardiovascular disease are particularly high compared to the national average. Hospital admissions for cardio-pulmonary disease, which is a range of diseases and conditions that affect the heart and lungs, and admissions for asthma in under 19s, are both high in Bedfordshire compared to the national average.
Bedford Borough’s priorities
Our place partners’ priorities are set out in place and health and wellbeing plans, they align closely with our Health and Care Partnership priorities. View the strategy.
Understanding our communities: to explore what is important to people and driving demand, and how to meet this need; plus an all age needs assessment for mental health, autism and learning disability.
Enabling people to live healthy lives: improve community health, screening, health checks, inequalities and isolation, and prevention/health promotion in long term health conditions and pregnant women.
Transforming the local health and care system: with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations to address immediate pressures, using population health and personalisation. Focus on Children and Young People, working age and older adults.
Read more about our priorities and enablers.
What success looks like
- Appropriate primary care attendance for review and measurement
- Increase use of the skills of the wider Primary Care Network team to reduce demand in the system
- Proactive referrals into system partner services
- Lower prevalence of obesity, high blood pressure or elevated HbA1c
- A happy and thriving workforce reflecting the demographics of the local population
