The JSNA Joint-Planning Area profiles here give summary information for the ten areas within Somerset. These are ‘mini-JSNAs’ for smaller areas than the county as a whole, but larger than say, parishes or wards. They have been created by the Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board to help understand need at the broad level of the market town and its hinterland, as this is the basis on which many services are provided.
These profiles show how different areas of the county have different characteristics and challenges. They are intended only to show the character and context of planning in each area. The areas were designed so that, as far as possible, they:
These are not prescriptive geographies for how services should be organized. They are generally consistent with the 30,000-50,000 population areas suggested for community teams in the NHS Long Term Plan (https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term-plan/ ). Taunton, Bridgwater, Chard and East Mendip areas are larger as there is no ‘natural break’ within the catchments.
People often choose to do things like register at GP Practices and attend schools other than the one closest to their home; this makes it difficult to produce an effective statistical picture at a smaller community level, even if two or more teams are needed to provide services to the population.
In 2011, 58,382 people in Somerset indicated that they provided unpaid care, of which 12,313 provided care for at least 50 hours per week. - 2011 Census