Nursing near you: North west England

Welcome to the north west of England

The north west is the fourth smallest English region by area, running from Cumbria in the north down to Cheshire in the south.

North westerners generally experience lower life expectancy and higher levels of poverty and deprivation compared with other English regions.

This page was last updated in April 2024. We will update this page next in October 2024.

Image of the Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool

Key statistics for this region

Population health

This region has a population of 7,671,121
On average, 52.8% of cancers were diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in 2021 (12,996 individual cases)
9,734 deaths among people aged under 75 were from preventable causes (206.9 deaths per 100,000 people)
45,242 people aged under 65 were diagnosed with dementia in 2023. The estimated dementia diagnosis rate for people aged under 65 is 67.7%.
Between 2021 and 2022, 252,677 children under the age of 16 came from low-income families (24.6%)
15,590 children aged 10 and 11 in school year 6 are obese (23.8%)
Between 2019 and 2021, 812 children died before their first birthday (4.4 infants per 1,000)
Between 2018 and 2023, 532,643 eligible people aged 40 to 74 received an NHS health check (34.1%)
23,870 emergency hospital admissions were due to falls in people aged 65 and over (2,354 emergency hospital admissions per 100,000)
Between 2020 and 2021, 1,620 additional deaths occurred in winter compared with other times of the year. Between August 2020 and July 2021, 7.6% of deaths were excess winter deaths.

Life expectancy

The life expectancy at birth for males is 77.0 years
The life expectancy at birth for females is 81.3 years
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for males is 60.5 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for females is 61.1 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.

Workforce planning

There are 52,662 NHS nurses and health visitors in this region
As of August 2023, there were 68.7 NHS nurses and health visitors per 10,000 of the regional population
As of August 2023, there were 53,808 nurses in Hospital and Community Health Service and GP settings (excluding health visitors)
There are 70.1 NHS nurses and GP nurses per 10,000 of the regional population (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 51,667 Hospital and Community Health Service Nurses (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 2,141 nurses working in general practice
As of March 2023, 235,417 fixed-term equivalent days had been lost to workforce sickness
As of March 2023, the overall workforce sickness rate was 5.8%
Between January and December 2022, £105,124,558 was spent on agency registered nurses

7,671,121 Population of region

52,662 Full-time equivalent NHS nurses and health visitors

Statistics by local integrated care system (ICS)

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

Population health

This ICS has a population of 2,714,167
On average, 53.7% of cancers were diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in 2021 (4,845 individual cases)
3,225 deaths among people aged under 75 were from preventable causes (187.1 deaths per 100,000 people)
16,182 people aged under 65 were diagnosed with dementia in 2023. The estimated dementia diagnosis rate for people aged under 65 is 64.1%.
Between 2021 and 2022, 66,462 children under the age of 16 came from low-income families (19.2%)
4,950 children aged 10 and 11 in school year 6 are obese (23.9%)
Between 2019 and 2021, 224 children died before their first birthday (3.9 infants per 1,000)
Between 2018 and 2023, 159,840 eligible people aged 40 to 74 received an NHS health check (30.6%)
9,920 emergency hospital admissions were due to falls in people aged 65 and over (2,655 emergency hospital admissions per 100,000)
Between 2020 and 2021, 520 additional deaths occurred in winter compared with other times of the year. Between August 2020 and July 2021, 6.5% of deaths were excess winter deaths.

Life expectancy

The life expectancy at birth for males is 78.1 years
The life expectancy at birth for females is 82.2 years
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for males is 62.2 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for females is 63.5 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.

Workforce planning

There are 19,819 NHS nurses and health visitors in this ICS
As of August 2023, there were 73.0 NHS nurses and health visitors per 10,000 of the ICS population
As of August 2023, there were 20,262 nurses in Hospital and Community Health Service and GP settings (excluding health visitors)
There are 74.7 NHS nurses and GP nurses per 10,000 of the ICS population (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 19,485 Hospital and Community Health Service Nurses (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 777 nurses working in general practice
As of March 2023, 173,142 fixed-term equivalent days had been lost to workforce sickness
As of March 2023, the overall workforce sickness rate was 5.8%
Between January and December 2022, £34,181,557 was spent on agency registered nurses

NHS Greater Manchester

Population health

This ICS has a population of 3,146,943
On average, 53.5% of cancers were diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in 2021 (4,466 individual cases)
3,759 deaths among people aged under 75 were from preventable causes (216.6 deaths per 100,000 people)
15,499 people aged under 65 were diagnosed with dementia in 2023. The estimated dementia diagnosis rate for people aged under 65 is 70.8%.
Between 2021 and 2022, 115,891 children under the age of 16 came from low-income families (25.4%)
6,305 children aged 10 and 11 in school year 6 are obese (24.2%)
Between 2019 and 2021, 378 children died before their first birthday (4.8 infants per 1,000)
Between 2018 and 2023, 203,411 eligible people aged 40 to 74 received an NHS health check (35.6%)
8,055 emergency hospital admissions were due to falls in people aged 65 and over (2,418 emergency hospital admissions per 100,000)
Between 2020 and 2021, 520 additional deaths occurred in winter compared with other times of the year. Between August 2020 and July 2021, 7.7% of deaths were excess winter deaths.

Life expectancy

The life expectancy at birth for males is 77.0 years
The life expectancy at birth for females is 81.0 years
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for males is 61.4 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for females is 60.5 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.

Workforce planning

There are 21,883 NHS nurses and health visitors in this ICS
As of August 2023, there were 69.5 NHS nurses and health visitors per 10,000 of the ICS population
As of August 2023, there were 22,032 nurses in Hospital and Community Health Service and GP settings (excluding health visitors)
There are 70 NHS nurses and GP nurses per 10,000 of the ICS population (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 21,281 Hospital and Community Health Service Nurses (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 751 nurses working in general practice
As of March 2023, 41,232 fixed-term equivalent days had been lost to workforce sickness
As of March 2023, the overall workforce sickness rate was 5.9%
Between January and December 2022, £40,840,450 was spent on agency registered nurses

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria

Population health

This ICS has a population of 1,810,011
On average, 51.3% of cancers were diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in 2021 (3,685 individual cases)
2,750 deaths among people aged under 75 were from preventable causes (217.1 deaths per 100,000 people)
13,561 people aged under 65 were diagnosed with dementia in 2023. The estimated dementia diagnosis rate for people aged under 65 is 68.3%.
Between 2021 and 2022, 70,324 children under the age of 16 came from low-income families (29.2%)
4,335 children aged 10 and 11 in school year 6 are obese (23.4%)
Between 2019 and 2021, 210 children died before their first birthday (4.5 infants per 1,000)
Between 2018 and 2023, 169,392 eligible people aged 40 to 74 received an NHS health check (36.0%)
5,895 emergency hospital admissions were due to falls in people aged 65 and over (1,990 emergency hospital admissions per 100,000)
Between 2020 and 2021, 580 additional deaths occurred in winter compared with other times of the year. Between August 2020 and July 2021, 8.5% of deaths were excess winter deaths.

Life expectancy

The life expectancy at birth for males is 76.0 years
The life expectancy at birth for females is 80.6 years
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for males is 57.9 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.
The estimated average healthy life expectancy at birth for females is 59.3 years. This is a rough estimate due to missing data for a significant number of Local Authorities.

Workforce planning

There are 10,961 NHS nurses and health visitors in this ICS
As of August 2023, there were 60.6 NHS nurses and health visitors per 10,000 of the ICS population
As of August 2023, there were 11,514 nurses in Hospital and Community Health Service and GP settings (excluding health visitors)
There are 63.6 NHS nurses and GP nurses per 10,000 of the ICS population (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 10,902 Hospital and Community Health Service Nurses (excluding health visitors)
As of August 2023, there were 613 nurses working in general practice
As of March 2023, 21,043 fixed-term equivalent days had been lost to workforce sickness
As of March 2023, the overall workforce sickness rate was 6.1%
Between January and December 2022, £30,102,550 was spent on agency registered nurses