'We need to act now' - Councillor calls for action as life expectancy is significantly different across West Northamptonshire

Labour councillor Fartun Ismail says lessons need to be learned to close the gap in life expectancy between those in the healthiest part of West Northamptonshire in Brackley and the least healthy in her Northampton town centre ward.

According to the data announced in a recent health and wellbeing board, there is a large difference between the two communities, with men in Brackley living on average to 87 compared to 72 in Castle ward.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) says it is working together with local partners and community groups and that it is committed to reducing health inequalities.

The disparity of life expectancy is also evident in women, with those living in the Northampton ward living six years less on average. The differences between the health inequalities are stark and also largely line up with WNC data on the most deprived areas.

Cllr Ismail will call at the next committee meeting of the Adult Social Care, Health and Communities Scrutiny Committee for an investigation to look into why some people in West Northants die so much earlier than others, what can be learned from local authorities that have reduced health inequalities and to put in place measures to close the gap.

She said: “This is shocking evidence of the health inequalities that persist in our council area despite the best efforts of health partners: almost 15 years difference in life expectancy for men, and six years for women in my ward and those in the most affluent areas.

“These are people who live just a few miles apart, yet have big differences in their life chances. We must act now to change these statistics and help everyone lead longer, healthier lives.”

The average life expectancy across West Northants is 79 for men and women die aged 83 on average. However, it is estimated that only around 62 of those years will be lived in ‘good health’, where they are not experiencing significant problems or difficulties.

The report by West Northants Director of Public Health quotes Professor Sir Chris Whitty, former Chief Medical Officer, who said: “We all age identically chronologically and eventually die, but biologically some people age substantially faster than others. This inequality in the rate of biological ageing is largely preventable and is affected by the social and economic environments that people live and work in.

“This can be seen by the significant gap in effective biological age experienced by those living in poverty and deprivation who experience multiple risk factors across the life course such as exposure to smoking, air pollution and access to green space, compared to those living in the least deprived areas”

The data in the public health report relies on a census from 2021 and was also used in the 2023 Director of Public Health’s Report. The county’s former health boss Sally Burns, said last year that dealing with the inequalities would be a “long game” and that the figures had been shared to “call the health system to account on it”.

The positions for the authority’s director of public health and the director of people services, which includes responsibility over adult social care, are both currently vacant. A private panel considering an appointment to the director of people role took place on Wednesday (June 11) and the director of public health position is currently held on an interim basis by Chloe Gay.

Councillor Laura Couse, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Public Health and Regulatory Services at West Northants Council, said the authority is committed to reducing health inequalities.

“We know how important this issue is and the concern surrounding the disparities in life expectancy,” she added. “The joint Northamptonshire Health Inequalities Plan outlines the priority of this work among our local partnerships with projects already underway to support this.

“Health inequalities are long-standing in our society with so many varied reasons, from someone’s diet, living environment or genetic disposition to their education, income and whether they are socially isolated. There isn’t a simple quick fix or ‘one size fits all’ solution, however we are working closely with our communities and partners to improve opportunities for all residents to have the best outcomes possible.”

She said a series of initiatives have been employed in the last year through its ‘10 Live Your Best Life Ambitions’. This includes exercise classes and a variety of coffee clubs led by residents to reduce loneliness, community larders developed to improve access to affordable food, quitting smoking pathways, and community voting days offering residents the opportunity to put forward and then vote for their own ideas where they live.

Cllr Couse added that WNC is “always open to and looking for new ways and opportunities to see and close gaps in equalities”.