County has lowest death rate but rising number of them are avoidable
A RISING number of people in Derbyshire are dying from avoidable causes, data has shown.
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 Derbyshire, 7,441 deaths were considered avoidable in the threeyear period from 2018 to 2020, the highest number since 2002-04.
That includes 1,784 in Derby and 5,657 across the rest of the county.
That means seven people per day died from an avoidable death over those three years.
The rate of avoidable deaths across Derbyshire is at 234 per 100,000, which compares with an average across England of 235 deaths per 100,000 people.
However, the Derbyshire Dales has seen the lowest rate in the county, at 179 per 100,000 people.
Across Derbyshire, 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 4,834 preventable deaths recorded across Derbyshire in the three years up to 2020.
A further 2,608 deaths were classed as “treatable”, which means they could have been avoided through timely and effective healthcare.
While rates of preventable deaths were higher than the national average in Derby and lower in Derbyshire; treatable deaths were higher in both Derby and Derbyshire than they were across England as a whole.
Dr Penelope Toff, chair 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 that 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.”