MORE evidence has emerged that patients in north-east Essex face a postcode lottery for care.

A new NHS report shows spending on healthcare varies dramatically across the county.

Primary care trust, NHS North East Essex, spends less on cancer treatment than its counterparts in the south of the county.

Between £27,000 and £30,000 was spent on cancer care per 1,000 people in Colchester and Tendring in the past year – up to £8,000 less than in south-east Essex.

Meanwhile the amount spent on mental health in Colchester and Tendring is among the lowest rates in the UK.

The primary care trust spends between £140,000 and £170,000 on mental health in Colchester and Tendring, compared with between £200,000 and £240,000 in the south-east of the county. People in need of a hip replacement in north Essex are less likely to receive one than their counterparts in the south.

And patients with chronic lung disease face a longer hospital stay in Colchester and Clacton than elsewhere in the county – a practice the report said could do patients more harm than good.

Although more MRI scans are carried out in north-east Essex than in the south of the county, CT scan rates were among the lowest in the country.

By comparison Chelmsford and Braintree has one of the highest CT scan rates in the UK.

More money is spent on hysterectomies in Colchester and Tendring than anywhere else in Essex, and the rates for screening newborn babies for hearing problems was among the highest in the country.

The health trust performed well with reducing unecessary antibiotics prescriptions which can become resistant to superbugs, and reported one of the shortest lengths of hospital stay for patients with broken necks or femurs.

Sam Hepplewhite, the NHS North East Essex deputy director of commissioning, said: “We would not wish to comment on specific issues until we have had the opportunity to study the report and its data source more thoroughly.

“Commissioning is a very complex business and needs to address the specific requirements of the local population.

“This is why you will see regional variances because a priority in one area is not so much a priority in another area.”