Health inequality gap 'still growing'

The health gap between rich and poor is ‘still growing’ in England, according to figures gathered by the Department of Health.

Those living in the most deprived areas of England run a greater risk of premature death, seeing a child die soon after it is born, and of ending up in hospital as an emergency case, the data reveals.

It shows that in key areas the gap has widened since 2010 after declining over the previous decade.

Seven years ago, life expectancy for men in England’s most deprived areas was 9.1 years less than for those in the richest areas. By 2015 this figure had risen to 9.2. The equivalent gap for poor women also grew over that time, from 6.8 years to 7.1.

The figures, which are contained in the health department’s annual report, published this summer, have been seized on by David Buck, a senior fellow at the King’s Fund health thinktank.

He told the Observer: “These are shocking figures. It’s shocking that we live in a developed country where inequalities in health are so wide and are getting worse.

“For the poorest in the country this is a double whammy of early death and poorer health while still alive. They are going to die younger and are facing 20 more years of life spent in poor health relative to the richest. This should be a wake-up call to ministers.”

The analysis is the latest evidence of health inequalities in England. Recently, a University of Manchester study revealed that people living in the north of England were 20 per cent more likely to die before the age of 75 than those living in the south.

The gap between rich and poor in relation to ‘healthy life expectancy’, a life free of disease or disability, has recently widened to almost 20 years. Poorer people’s access to GP services is also getting worse, as is their experience of care received at GP surgeries.

Ministers are giving local councils £16 billion over five years to improve public health, a department spokeswoman has said.

A spokesman for NHS England added: “Health inequalities cost lives. While there are encouraging signs on improved mortality amenable to healthcare and lower smoking rates – which account for up to half of the class-related differences in life expectancy – clearly action is still needed on the wider social determinants of health.”