Emergency department attendances and heart disease deaths vary fivefold across England

People in some English local authorities lose 20 times as many years of life as those in other areas as a result of chronic liver disease, shows a new edition of the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare (www.rightcare.nhs.uk/atlas).

Variation is a fact of life in the NHS in England. For example, babies 6-8 weeks old are nearly five times as likely to be enjoying the benefits of breast feeding in some places …