Health warning over impact of spending cuts

SPENDING CUTS are contributing to worrying life expectancy trends in a Yorkshire city, it has been claimed.
The director of public health in Sheffield has raised concerns over austerityThe director of public health in Sheffield has raised concerns over austerity
The director of public health in Sheffield has raised concerns over austerity

The director of public health in Sheffield highlighted figures showing life expectancy in the city has stopped rising and warned it could start to fall.

Greg Fell insisted scientific evidence had shown “austerity” was a factor in the trend and the city needed to look at how it was tackling poverty.

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Mr Fell was speaking as his annual report was published containing warnings that the city has seen “very little improvement” in women’s life expectancy over the last decade and a slight fall for men.

“There are many theories to explain this stall in improvement, but the direct and indirect impact of continuing austerity ranks highest among these,” the report says.

Average life expectancy for men in Sheffield has fallen from a peak of 78.8 years to 78.7 years in the latest figures while for women the figure has remained the same at 82.5 year.

Mr Fell said: “We’ve seen over the last year or so that the historic improvements in life expectancy have ground to a halt. That’s been happening nationally and it’s happening in Sheffield as well.

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“There are some signs it’s getting worse in some parts of the country.

“We’ve not seen this here in Sheffield yet but we may well do. And what’s worrying, is that this is not evenly spread – people who are vulnerable and less affluent are having a worse deal.

“Scientific evidence shows that austerity is a factor in this and our response needs to look at what we’re doing as a city around tackling poverty.

“There’s no easy answer to this but it’s something that affects the whole of society, therefore the whole society needs to be involved in the solution.”

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The report also raises concerns over trends in the length of time Sheffield residents can expect to live in good health.

Healthy life expectancy for women has fallen from 61.5 years in 2009 to 59.9 years in the latest figures while for men the age has dipped slightly from 59.3 to 59 years.

Mr Fell’s report calls for the council to work with Public Health England to encourage research looking at the impact of childhood experiences on future health.

It makes the case for the authority working with the NHS to review the way the city approaches mental health to put more focus on preventative measures.

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The report also warns of the growing problem the council and the health service face dealing with people with multiple health problems.

Mr Fell argues it is this trend, rather than the ageing population. that reducing healthy life expectancy and “is also the key factor driving the increase in the demand for health and social care services, rather than the ageing of the population”.

The report will be discussed by Sheffield City Council’s cabinet on Wednesday.