Health stats reveal higher prevalence of heart disease in West Berkshire

West Berkshire has a higher rate of cardio vascular and respiratory disease, and cancer than the national average.

Figures to the district's health board show a higher prevalence of the conditions with more detailed statistics showing that around 30 percent of patients have high or very high Body Mass Index (BMI) and cholesterol.

The Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire health board also says it has 475 children waiting for a new dentistry patient consultation, taking around three months to get seen.

Those who have been assessed and are awaiting extraction under general anaesthetic for 160 children at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, have a 6-7 month wait.

It says factors contributing to the delays are children seeming to be increasingly anxious, more neurodivergence identified (or on a pathway for possible diagnoses), and potential changes to how anaesthetists prefer to manage the airway in theatre, plus other hospital challenges, such as increasing demand but no more theatre space/staff.