West Sussex Health Authority's Health Improvement Programme is designed to give people the medical care they need from 2000 to 2003.

Health planners said there were pockets of West Sussex which were as underprivileged as East London and Glasgow.

Pressures on some services stem from the fact West Sussex has the highest rate of elderly people in the UK and a mix of coastal and urban areas.

In Adur, the authority will

target smokers aged between 35 and 54 and work with schools to raise awareness about the dangers of the habit.

Services for people with impaired sight, mobility and hearing will be a key part of health planning in Arun.

In Crawley, work will concentrate on reducing unwanted teenage pregnancies and increasing parenting skills for young

families.

Mid Sussex GPs will aim to

prevent accidents caused by slips and falls among the elderly.

The programme will also focus on older people, cancer, coronary heart disease and strokes, accidents, children and families,

vulnerable people, carers and mental health care.

Richard Irwin, the authority's chairman, said: "It contains

proposals for improving health and health services which have been put together by all

the organisations with these

responsibilities in the area."

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