A consultation document – Better Health, Fairer Health – has been drawn up by the region's top public health specialist, Dr Stephen Singleton.

Priorities highlighted include a reduction in smoking during pregnancy, and the creation of a regional office to promote the safe consumption of alcohol.

Both South Tyneside Primary Care Trust and the borough's Foundation Trust are taking part in the consultation process.

Representatives of the two Trust bodies were among 200 health professionals and other guests at the launch of the draft strategy, at St James's Park in Newcastle yesterday.

Dr Singleton said: "Achieving change in many areas is difficult, usually slow and too often dismissed as impossible. It isn't.

"We recognise it won't be easy. Overcoming our deep-seated problems will require a new approach, and a huge amount of concerted effort by a lot of different organisations, as well as individuals – but I firmly believe it can be done.

"After all, why shouldn't North East England be the healthiest region in the country in 25 years' time? We have suffered from poor health here for long enough."

The draft strategy will be subject to a wide-ranging consultation, and a definitive document is expected early in 2008.

Dr Singleton added: "We need better health because – measured by life expectancy and our rates of major diseases – this region is the worst in England.

"In itself this seems cruelly unfair, but the argument for fairer health is made more strongly by the even larger differences in health that exist between groups within the region."

Ruth McKeown, director of public health for South Tyneside, said: "We are looking forward to being involved in the consultation around Better Health, Fairer Health.

"We already have some successful initiatives in South Tyneside, around issues such as reducing smoking in pregnancy, childhood obesity and helping people to change their lifestyles.