Worst areas in Yorkshire for people dying when it could be prevented

Kirklees has a higher level of avoidable deaths than the Yorkshire and Humber region average.

Almost a quarter of all deaths in England and Wales in 2022 were considered avoidable, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The King’s Fund think tank added that the preventable disease has “devastating consequences for individuals, families, communities and the economy”.

A preventable death is a death caused by either preventable or treatable health conditions for those under the age of 75. Many of these deaths are preventable with proper medical care and timely medical interventions.

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On average, in Yorkshire and The Humber, there were 284 avoidable deaths per 100,000 people between 2020 and 2022. There were 11,200 avoidable deaths in South Yorkshire over the same period, with 68% considered preventable, and there were 17,534 avoidable deaths in West Yorkshire. , with 69% considered preventable.

Meanwhile, there were 2,450 avoidable deaths in the East Riding, 64% of which were considered preventable. North Yorkshire recorded 4,135 avoidable deaths, with 66% considered preventable.

Here are the statistics for each region of Yorkshire, compared to the number of preventable deaths between 2017 and 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Barnsley: 337 per 100,000, up from 277
• Bradford: 330 per 100,000, up from 276
• Calderdale: 293 per 100,000, up from 260
• Doncaster: 323 per 100,000, up from 274
• East Yorkshire: 218 to 100,000 more from 201
• Shell: 391 per 100,000, up from 342
• Kirklees: 296 per 100,000, up from 258
• Leeds: 275 per 100,000, up from 263
• North Yorkshire: 210 per 100,000, up from 200
• Rotherham: 325 per 100,000, up from 279
• Sheffield: 279 per 100,000, up from 244
• Wakefield: 317 per 100,000, up from 283
• York: 237 per 100,000, up from 217

The North West had the highest regional average at 310 per 100,000 and 61,503 overall. The South West was the region with the fewest avoidable deaths, with 211 per 100,000.

Veena Raleigh, senior research fellow at the King’s Fund, said: “The cut of a quarter in public health budgets in 2015-16, which fell hardest on people living in the most deprived areas of England, illustrates the government’s failure to give proper priority to improvement. health and disease prevention in areas where people have the worst health.

“The UK’s healthcare services are also falling short compared to international peers and key health outcomes are worse – strong evidence that the UK is also doing poorly in terms of treating people.”

There was a slight decrease in the proportion of deaths considered avoidable. In 2021, 24% were considered avoidable, compared to 22% in 2022.

Kathryn Marszalek, senior analytics manager at the Health Foundation, said: “Although avoidable death rates have declined since 2021, they are still higher than pre-pandemic levels.

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“However, this will still include the many deaths from Covid in 2022.”

Cancer remains the leading cause of preventable death in 2022, but has continued to decline since 2001, while the death rate for alcohol and drug-related deaths has increased.

Ms Marszalek said: “The next government faces an uphill challenge in improving population health and reducing inequalities.

“Improving health requires long-term intergovernmental action, from providing good quality jobs and housing to investing in wider public services and ensuring that everyone has equitable access to health care services.”

In addition, men had a higher rate of preventable deaths in every area of ​​the country.

Ms Raleigh said that without a significant focus on improving the nation’s wellbeing, policy aspirations for economic growth were unlikely to be realised.

“Preventing ill health and reducing premature death is certainly one of the greatest challenges of our time, and although political parties have set out some measures to improve public health, such as committing to a smoke-free generation, none of them have matches the scale of reform needed. to bring about serious change,” she added.