OXFORDSHIRE health chiefs have announced a drive to cut obesity and diabetes and reduce the number of smokers.

NHS managers have drawn up a five-year strategy, with the aim of making major improvements in public health by 2013.

Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust is responsible for spending £750m every year to improve the quality of life for the county's 630,000 residents.

The strategy will encourage people to choose healthier lifestyles through a mixture of prevention schemes and a support network of trainers and therapists. Better co-operation between the NHS and public sector bodies is promised.

But the strategy also includes specific pledges, such as reducing obesity and diabetes - thought to be two of the most serious threats facing public health in the next decade.

PCT chief executive Andrea Young said: "This is a really important opportunity for the PCT to start to plan to look ahead for the population of Oxfordshire.

"We are using the advantage we have of a strong financial position to use some of our money wisely.

"We have looked at the area and asked what Oxfordshire really needs if we are going to deliver our target for healthier people and better services. This strategy will make it very clear what the public can expect from us.

"It is also a bit of a rallying call to other public sector bodies in particular, to let them know that we need to work together."

Although PCT board members have given managers and staff the go-ahead to launch the five-year strategy, they are aware that many of the problems will be on-going issues beyond 2013.

Ms Young said: "We haven't chosen easy things to focus on and we haven't shied away from some of the most challenging problems facing our communities.

"But the advantage of having our strategy is that we cannot ignore these things now. We have to start tackling them in partnership with other agencies.

"We're being quite bold in the way we want to improve the health of the people of Oxfordshire."

OBESITY

TO tackle obesity in Oxfordshire, NHS managers have drawn up plans for more weight management for patients, more exercise referrals and nutritional support - from an army of health trainers.

Zoe Millington already has a team of five health trainers in Oxford, including Teresa Mortimer, pictured right, with client Shona Kirk, and under the PCT's five-year strategy, more will be recruited.

She said: "The advantage with health trainers is that they can really fit in with a person's life, meeting them at a time and place to suit them, which can make it less intimidating.

"Because we're from the local community, we understand the challenges faced by our clients, and can help them find solutions relevant to them."

PUBLIC HEALTH

THE strategy focuses on health problems linked to vulnerable groups and deprived areas.

It promises to offer young women personalised antenatal care with enhanced midwife support for those under 19, and also pledges to introduce more alcohol initiatives in schools to reduce crime and health problems associated with binge-drinking.

Targeted communities will have access to a range of smoking prevention programmes by 2013, which will help combat conditions like strokes and heart disease.

Oxfordshire's director of public health, Dr Jonathan McWilliam, said: "I'm really proud of the NHS and the PCT, because the strategy is tackling some key areas. We're grasping these long-standing issues, and we'll measure people's health in deprived areas and keep on and on and on until we see improvements. Doing nothing is not an option."

OLDER PEOPLE

BY 2029, the number of people aged over 65 in Oxfordshire is set to increase by two thirds, and the number of people aged 80 and over will have almost doubled.

One goal will be to improve quality of life for the elderly. Managers plan to help more older people live independently in their own homes, and reduce unplanned hospital admissions. The PCT will invest in more workers, therapists to rehabilitate stroke victims, and carers.

Mary Daniel, of Oxfordshire Age Concern, pictured, said: "Their aims are achievable if they put resources into them. I'm talking about finances and people, and new ways of looking at things. They have to approach long-standing problems from different positions."

CANCER

BY 2013, the PCT aims to reduce the number of cases and fatalities.

New screening techniques and HPV vaccinations in schools will be introduced to tackle cervical cancer among vulnerable groups of women.

More will be spent improving diagnostics to pick up cases of other types of cancer, including lung and bowel.

More skin cancer clinics will be set up in the community, making treatment more accessible, while people who still need to go to hospital for cancer care will also have improved access. For patients with terminal cancer, the PCT will work closely with other NHS providers, social services and the voluntary sector to ensure end of life care meets individual needs.

Catherine Foot, of Cancer Research UK, welcomed the pledge to tackle early diagnosis. She said: "It's very important that PCTs assess local health needs to see which services need particular investment."