Avoidable deaths rise to 10-year high in county

A RISING number of people in Leicestershire are dying from avoidable causes.

An increase in deaths from alcohol and drug-related disorders, cancer, and the advent of the coronavirus pandemic have been blamed for driving the highest avoidable mortality rate in Great Britain since 2010.

In Leicestershire, 6,277 deaths were considered avoidable in the three-year period from 2018 to 2020, the highest number since comparable records began in 2001-03. That includes 2,240 in Leicester and 4,037 across the rest of the county.

That means six people a day died from an avoidable death over those three years.

The rate of avoidable death is much higher in Leicester than it is nationally, with 318 of these deaths for every 100,000 people.

That compares to an average across England of 235 deaths per 100,000 people.

But it is lower in Leicestershire, with 201 deaths per 100,000.

Excluding Leicester, the rate is highest in North West Leicestershire, at 217 avoidable deaths for every 100,000 residents, and lowest in Blaby, at 172 per 100,000 people.

In Hinckley and Bosworth the figure was 210.7 per 100,000.

Across Leicester and Leicestershire, men were far more likely to die from an avoidable death than women. A death is counted as “avoidable” if it could have been prevented by effective and timely healthcare, better public health policies, or a combination of both.

Avoidable deaths can include those from various types of cancer, heart disease, alcohol, drugs, and childbirth complications - as well as accidents, suicides and murders.

Some of those deaths are classed as “preventable” - those related to risk factors such as behaviour and lifestyle choices, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors.

In 2020, preventable deaths included deaths from Covid-19.

There were 4,085 preventable deaths recorded across Leicester and Leicestershire in the three years up to 2020.

A further 2,192 deaths were classed as “treatable”, which means they could have been avoided through timely and effective healthcare.

Rates of both preventable and treatable deaths were higher in Leicester and lower in Leicestershire than they were across England as a whole.

Dr Penelope Toff, chairman of the British Medical Association public health medicine committee, said: “It is deeply concerning that the number of people dying from preventable causes has risen so much in the last 12 years.

“What this data shows is there is an urgent need to tackle the underlying causes of poor physical and mental health, such as poor housing and lack of access to education and stable employment.

“To achieve this, Government departments must work together to consider the impact of all policies on health – as this will be key to building a fairer and healthier society.

“Public health grants for next year are due to be 24% lower per person in England than they were in 2015/16.

“This reduction in funding has led to vital facilities - such as smoking cessation clinics and mental health services - being stripped back or shut entirely.

“Restoring public health funding to at least previous levels will also be a vital step in reducing the number of deaths from preventable causes, and the Government must make this a priority in its plans for NHS recovery.”

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, 23% of all deaths in Great Britain in 2020 were avoidable - 153,008 of 672,015 deaths.

More than two-thirds of avoidable deaths were caused by conditions considered to be preventable, including Covid-19.

In 2020, for every 100,000 of the population in England there were around 35 deaths attributable to coronavirus, compared to around 36 in Wales and 29 in Scotland.

But there was also a rise in the rate of alcohol and drug-related deaths, and cancer continues to be a big driver of avoidable deaths.

Men and women were most likely to die of an avoidable death in Blackpool, while men in Rutland were least likely to die from an avoidable death, and the rate for women was lowest in Eden in Cumbria.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Mortality rates are affected by several factors, and understandably Covid-19 has contributed significantly to the latest figures.

“We are taking action to address the main causes of preventable death rates, including alcohol, drugs, smoking and obesity.

“We are also committed to improving life expectancy and breaking the link between people’s backgrounds and their prospects for a healthy life.”