Fight against the 'big three' killers is on track, says minister

Published on Friday 7 August 2009 22:05

EFFORTS to hit targets in cutting Scotland's "big three" killers – heart disease, stroke and cancer – are on track, the government said yesterday.

Public health minister Shona Robison said she was confident that targets to cut deaths from these conditions would be met.

Ms Robison's comment came as annual statistics revealed how many Scots died from the conditions in the past year.

Of the 55,700 deaths registered in 2008, 27 per cent were from cancer, 16 per cent from heart disease, and 10 per cent were from strokes.

Overall, the conditions caused 53 per cent of deaths last year, compared with 65 per cent in 1981.

Ms Robison said: "Little more than a decade ago, Scotland was seen as the sick man of Europe because of our high premature death rates from heart disease, stroke and cancer.

"But today's figures show that, with determination and a lot of hard work from NHS Scotland, we are on track to meet some very ambitious targets to reduce these deaths."

She stressed however, that people had to take responsibility for their own health.

"Better treatment can only do so much, however, and future progress will largely depend on people's lifestyles – healthy eating, doing more exercise, quitting smoking and drinking sensibly," she said.

"This government is taking firm action in all these areas so that our health service isn't burdened by what are often preventable illnesses."

The rate of heart disease deaths in under-75s was down 8.6 per cent on the previous year, which the government said was "on track" to meet 2010 targets.

Despite an overall increase in cancer deaths, the rate in under-75s was down 2.1 per cent, which beats current targets.

The rate of strokes among the same age group rose by 4.1 per cent, but the government said this would not affect efforts to meet the 50 per cent reduction target by 2010.

It said that a new health action plan, Better Heart Disease and Stroke Care, as well as placing improving people's health before problems developed at its core, would help improve stroke awareness and survival, including getting more people into specialist units quickly.