Yorkshire city residents on ‘sick’ list as affluent are living longer

While the number of people living over the age of 100 has reached a record high, an area of Bradford which is home to almost 120,000 people has lowest ‘healthy life’ expectancy in the country.

Those in an area covering Frizinghall, Peel Park, Little Horton and Mannigham can expect to remain healthy until they get to 52.5 years (men) and 51.6 years (women).

In statistics which show a clear North-South divide, baby girls and boys in Guildford and Waverley could expect to live 71.3 and 70.3 years in good health respectively.

A second report states that life expectancy at birth has increased by two and a half years per decade since 1980 for men and two years per decade for females. However, UK women are still expected to live for longer than men.

But a third ONS report on healthy life expectancy suggests that even though people are living longer, they are not enjoying all of their years in good health.

Healthy life expectancy estimates the average lifespan spent in very good or good health based on a self-assessment taken from the Census.

The report suggests that baby girls born in 2010-12 can expect to live for 83 years, but just 64.8 of those years will be spent in good health.

Baby boys can expect to live for 79.2 years and feel healthy for 63.5 years, the report suggests.

The report found major regional differences, with Bradford at the bottom.

Dr Akram Khan, of Bradford City clinical commissioning group (CCG), said it was focusing on heart disease, stroke and lung diseases.

“Bradford City CCG is the most deprived CCG in the country, and the deep health inequalities that exist have a major impact on the health and needs of local people. But as a CCG, for the first time, we are now in a unique position to truly understand and respond to people’s needs, by focusing budgets and services where they are required most and can have the greatest impact.

“We have a strong focus on increasing access to health services for disadvantaged groups. In November we launched a major campaign – Bradford Beating Diabetes - to identify everyone in the City area who is at risk of developing diabetes and ensure they receive advice, care and support to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, as well as help those who have diabetes to manage their condition and prevent.”

Dr Khan said a project was also identifying hundreds of undiagnosed patients with early stage chronic kidney disease.

Greg Fell, public health consultant at Bradford Council, said there was a focus on improving access to health services and encouraging people to give up smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, improve their diets and exercise. He said Bradford was not the worst area for premature deaths.

“Public Health England’s Longer Lives website compares local authorities with similar levels of deprivation and ranks Bradford 6th out of 15 similar authorities - with areas such as Salford, Nottingham and Blackburn with Darwen having higher premature mortality rates than Bradford. These are considered by experts to be the most appropriate comparator areas.”

Bradford Council leader David Green said: “Bradford City CCG covers not only some of the most deprived communities in Bradford but also the most deprived communities in the country.

“The figures highlight the fears we have been expressing for some time about health inequalities and the CCG has identified this issue as its priority in the coming year but the CCG cannot on its own deal with the challenge and it is up to all the agencies involved and the wider community to work together to deal with the causes of ill health and the inequity that the figures demonstrate.”