Ruth Harrell (Director of Public Health) delivered the ‘Life and Health Expectancy’ report to the Committee, and highlighted the following points-

a)     ‘Life expectancy’ was an estimate of the average length someone might live from birth, while ‘healthy life expectancy’ was an estimate of the average time someone lived in ‘good health’, based on self-reported disability or illness. While both figures were useful for tracking trends, they had limitations due to data collection methods, and only showed an average;

b)    Nationally, ‘life expectancy’ had risen continually from 1841-2010 due to medical, scientific, and lifestyle improvements however, since 2010 ‘life expectancy’ had begun to plateau. In the most recent data, ‘life expectancy’ had fallen however, it was noted that this included the Covid-19 Pandemic years. The ‘life expectancy’ figures for 2021 were therefore similar to those of 2010;

c)     It was important to note significant inequalities in ‘life expectancy’ data. The biggest drop of ‘life expectancy’, experienced in 2021, was disproportionately experienced by those in deprived areas compared to wealthier populations.   There also remained a noticeable variation between the life expectancy of men and women, with women living statistically longer;

d)    Plymouth’s life expectancy was below the England average, however, compared to areas with statistically similar populations and deprivation, Plymouth performed well. Furthermore, the gap between the National, and Plymouth average had narrowed during the Pandemic years, with Plymouth experiencing one of the lowest Covid death rates in the country;

e)     Plymouth performed below the national average for women’s ‘healthy life expectancy’ however, male healthy life expectancy matched national trends. While there was no obvious cause for low female healthy life expectancy in Plymouth, the Public Health Team were pursuing multiple lines of enquiry including employment market trends, the gender wage gap, Plymouth’s lower job density, and Plymouths statistically higher part-time work.

In response to questions from the Committee, it was reported that-

f)      It was possible that Plymouth’s struggling health services were discouraging residents from seeking timely advice or assistance with minor health conditions, potentially resulting in more severe illnesses later on. 

g)     Updated census data would shortly be available, as well as other data sources, to provide a more enhanced insight into age, gender and health correlations. It was important to establish what age people reported losing their health, and if this was being caused by a particular event.

h)    The disparity between men and women’s life expectancy had been narrowing throughout the years. This had traditionally been due to occupational health but was now largely due to risk, with men tending to be higher drinkers, smokers, fast drivers, and accident prone. Overall trends therefore showed that while men tended to die younger, women suffered from illness, earlier.

i)      The cost of living crisis and impact of long-covid would likely cause further challenges for healthy life expectancy in the future, with some forced to choose between heating and eating.

The Committee agreed to-

1.     Recommend that the Director of Public Health continues to work to understand the issue of low female ‘healthy life expectancy’ in Plymouth, including analysis of further data, and seeking the latest evidence as it becomes available;

2.     To receive a further report from the Director for Public Health regarding life and healthy life expectancy, in one years’ time;

3.     To note the report.