More must be done to tackle widening health divide

According to the latest Office for National Statistics data, life expectancy in the UK could have stalled. This is just one set of figures, from one organisation, so it’s too early to know for certain if we will no longer see increasing average life expectancy in the future.

What is clear, however, is that there has been a trend of slowing growth in life expectancy over recent years. In addition, improvements in life expectancy have not been equally shared between people in the UK.

Growth in life expectancy has been slowest among people on low incomes and from deprived areas, whereas more wealthy people have seen their life expectancy continue to rise. Indeed, for the poorest women, life expectancy fell between 2011 and 2016. This means the gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor is worsening over time. The reasons behind these disparities are complex, but it is utterly unacceptable to witness a growing health divide in 21st-century Britain.

As we continue to develop as a country and live longer, we would naturally expect, at some point, life expectancy to slow and then level out.

However, that doesn’t explain discrepancies between different groups of people in the UK.

More needs to be done to invest in tackling the health divide, so that we can all reap the benefits of longer, healthier lives.

We know that investing in spotting or preventing health problems early on is the most effective way to avoid ill health, rather than treating the problem once it exists.

This includes measures such as health screening, vaccinations and public campaigns to prevent unhealthy behaviour such as smoking.

Unfortunately, prevention has been one of the areas hardest hit as a result of tighter Government budgets. More investment in preventive healthcare is needed so that we all benefit from longer, healthier lives and that it is not only the richest who do.