Female life expectancy has dropped in parts of England
Great news everyone: a new report has discovered that the life expectancy for women living in the poorer parts of England, notably in the North East, has dropped. It comes at a time when mounting evidence suggests that where you live impacts the sort of medical treatment you receive, including that for your mental health.
Overall life expectancy has also stalled too, for the first time in 100 years. Researchers said that while their report is focussed on England, the same changes are also occurring throughout the rest of the UK, despite the NHS's best efforts to use robots to ease pressures on staff.
The findings, which come as part of the Marmot Review: 10 Years On, from The Institute of Health Equity, show that while females living in the the most deprived areas of the North East of England have seen a decline in life expectancy by 0.3 years, life expectancy in London's richest areas has risen by 0.5 years. The report confirms that in general, the health gap (including quality of life, use of food banks and access to medical care) has widened between the north and the south of the country.
As an example, the average age a woman can now expect to live for in North East Lincolnshire has decreased by four months, from 82.6 years to 82.2 years. The UK average in general, for a female born today, is a survival rate of 83.2 years.
Why are there such big gaps? According to the report's author, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and BBC coverage, austerity is to blame (hello, government cuts to the NHS and benefits system).
"If health has stopped improving, that means society has stopped improving and if health inequalities continue and in fact increase, that means inequalities in society have been increasing."
Professor Marmot is now calling upon the government to tackle child poverty, increase the living wage and address discrepancies in the benefits system.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the findings have renewed his determination to level up health life expectancy across our country. "After all, levelling up health is the most important levelling up of all."
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
Follow Jennifer on Instagram and Twitter
You Might Also Like
