Health improvements see Blackpool life expectancy rise having previously been worst in England

Hard work to improve health screening and provide opportunities for exercise are paying dividends as life expectancy has started to increase in Blackpool, with joint work between the council and health services credited with an increase in life expectancy in the resort.

The office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has released their findings that life expectancy has risen across the town - up one year for men and nearly six months for women. And an increase in NHS health checks has been cited as the major reason for the improvements.

Blackpool delivers higher rates of NHS Health Checks for cardiovascular health than other areas across the north west region and England as a whole. Childhood vaccination rates in the town continue to be higher than both regional and national averages as well.

And participation in Active Blackpool facilities is growing across the town too, with more than 10,700 residents regularly using the council’s three gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres.

These increases tally ahead of the national figure for males, where life expectancy rose by 0.6 years, and in line with the national figure for females. And Blackpool is outperforming similar towns, including Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Plymouth.

Compared to its five closest statistical neighbours – local authorities with similar characteristics and outcomes, including Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Plymouth. In Nottingham, life expectancy is up by just 0.4 for males and 0.2 for females.

Life expectancy is one of the key indicators of health in a population. It is defined as the average number of years that a new-born is expected to live if current mortality rates continue to apply. It is a statistical average for a whole population, taking into account infant mortality rates and deaths occurring at younger ages.

In recent years, the gap had widened between Blackpool and national averages. For the 2022-24 reporting period, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found Blackpool's male life expectancy to be 5.8 years below the England average, and female life expectancy 4.2 years below.

Coun. Jo Farrell, Blackpool’s cabinet member for communities and wellbeing, said: “These positive changes in life expectancy have been helped by the hard work of our public health teams and colleagues in the health service.

“Council-run services like our stop smoking or drug and alcohol treatment programmes make a genuine difference to people’s lives, leading to drops in rates of adult smoking and smoking during pregnancy, and helping people through treatment and recovery.

“We are improving outcomes for children and families through our Better Start programme and early years services like health visiting. At our gyms, members proudly tell us they are ‘beating the life expectancy rate’ as they enjoy improving their fitness and wellbeing.

“Alongside all of this, we are delivering huge economic and housing regeneration across Blackpool, building better homes, creating training and work opportunities and raising pride and aspiration in our town. All of this contributes to creating healthier communities and improving individual health outcomes for our residents.”

The OHID figures are provisional, coming ahead of the ONS release of official statistics on life expectancy rates in December. But the council says these offer “a very good indication” of what can be expected, according to a report to be shared with Blackpool Council’s full council next week.

Figures published in Blackpool’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), had previously reported the life expectancy of men in the town as 73.7 years and women 79 years.

The JSNA said: “Not only do people in Blackpool live shorter lives, but they also spend a smaller proportion of their lifespan in good health and without disability. Both men and women in Blackpool have the lowest life expectancy from birth of any local authority in England.”