One million people in England living shorter lives than they should

A new report from the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE) has confirmed that a million people in 90% of areas in England lived shorter lives than they should between 2011 and the start of the pandemic. The number of lives shortened is equivalent in size to the whole of Birmingham (and some), 984,333 (people); or Edinburgh and Glasgow together, 1,056,610; or a third of Wales, 3,136,000; or half the population of Northern Ireland, 1,885,000. Well established evidence confirms most of our health is determined by our social circumstances and NHS care only accounts for 20% of population health. In contrast to the traditional focus on the health of the poorest, the new report Health Inequalities, Lives Cut Short considers the life expectancy of 90% of the general population who do not live in the 10% of wealthiest areas. Using several published ONS data sources, the IHE made these calculations from the number of excess deaths (the increase beyond those expected on the basis of death rates for the most advantaged 10% of areas) in the decade from 2011 in England. Previous research has shown that pre-2010 government policies were beginning to close the health inequalities gap. Such policies included coordinated investment in the early years, education and neighbourhood renewal, as well as healthcare.