NHS at 75: The parts of England with the highest and lowest life expectancies as figures reveal health postcode lottery

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2023

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On 5 July 1948, the UK’s Health Secretary Aneurin Bevan officially started the NHS, back then a unique experiment to provide universal healthcare free at the point of use.

Seventy-five years on that ambition largely remains, enshrined in the 2011 NHS Constitution of guiding principles and pledges to the public.

But the reality is different, with data revealing access to healthcare is getting worse, inequalities are growing, and stark differences across the country are leaving large sections of the population behind.

Your address, your ethnicity, your gender, and above all else your socio-economic status are strongly tied to how long and healthy your life will be.

Explore your area in the map below:

Postcode lottery – a north-south divide?

One of the places this gap between rich and poor is most pronounced is on The Wirral, which is home to both Birkenhead, an extremely deprived area with one of the lowest life expectancies, and Gayton, an affluent area with above average health.

Dr Laxman Ariaraj, a GP at Fender Way Health Centre who has been working in the Birkenhead area for 20 years, has witnessed health inequalities widen there over time.

He said: “Certainly access has become more difficult over that time, which would probably widen those wider determinants of health.

“The sheer volume of the people that we need to see is going to impact the amount of time we can spend doing things proactively.

“On a positive note, I think we’ve become more aware of it and that gives us an opportunity to try and do something about it.”

The government has committed to cutting NHS waiting lists, however across the country little progress has been made. The North West, where Birkenhead is located, is the worst affected region with the longest waits.

The NHS operational target is that 92% of people should be treated within 18 weeks following referral by a consultant. However, two fifths of the current 7.4 million waitlist for treatments have been waiting for longer.

The North West has experienced the biggest increase in waits in England, from 13% on the list more than four months in April 2019 (around average compared to other areas), up to 46.1% in the latest data for April 2023.

Overall, the waiting list has increased by more than three million from 4,315,000 in April 2019. At that time 87% of would-be patients had been waiting less than 18 weeks.

The situation in the north generally and the North West in particular is of even more concern given the health inequalities that already exist here.

There are some extremely disadvantaged neighbourhoods with higher levels of deprivation than in any areas of the country, such as Blackpool, and this plays a big part in poor health outcomes.

However, this doesn’t fully explain the health gap with other areas. At any cross section, London tends to have higher life expectancies, even though the areas are of similar socio-economic status:

There is no settled explanation for the phenomenon, but Dr Bola Owolabi, a GP in the Midlands and director of Health Inequalities at NHS England told Sky News that this may partly be explained by communities who are harder to track in official metrics.

Dr Owolabi said: “We recognise that there are other drivers beyond simply using the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

“For example, people experiencing homelessness or rough sleeping, and migrant communities may not show up in the data.”

Deprived areas have less access to resources

The current NHS crisis and treatment backlog affects everyone, but it may not be affecting everyone equally.

Analysis by The Health Foundation has shown a decrease in the proportion of people admitted to hospital after presenting at A&E due to bed rationing.

The most significant drop in emergency admissions was seen among people living in the most deprived areas, by 80,000 between 2019 and 2022. This was more than twice as much as the 35,000 decrease for those living in the least deprived areas.

Although the total number of days patients spent in hospital increased in most areas, it decreased for patients in the most deprived areas.

Patients in the most deprived areas in the country had 107,000 fewer days in hospital beds in 2022 compared to 2019. The net increase in bed days for emergency admissions was 329,000.

The challenge of training and retaining enough doctors and other healthcare staff to plug vacancies has also been a major challenge for the NHS in recent years to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population.

But more deprived areas have additional challenges with recruitment.

Sky News analysis has found that the local GP for someone living in one of England’s most deprived areas has, on average, a 61% higher patient workload than the average local GP for residents of the country’s wealthiest areas.

This gap has increased slightly since 2015, when it stood at 59%. That’s despite the government’s efforts to incentivise trainees to take up posts in under-served areas.

“The pressure on the NHS is potentially damaging the health of poorer people.”

The Marmot Review on health inequalities, first published in 2010 with a ten year follow up in 2020, concluded that inequalities in health and life expectancy result from social issues including employment, housing and deprivation.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director of The UCL Institute of Health Equity, told Sky News: “I’ve been saying for a long time that given the equity of access in the NHS, it’s highly unlikely that difficulties of access to treatment are playing a big role in the inequalities in health. I may need to modify that conclusion in the light of recent history.

“You’ve got it both ways: that the pressure on the NHS is potentially damaging the health of poorer people. And that the poor health of poorer people – because of social and economic inequalities in society – is potentially putting unbearable burden on the NHS.”

Ethnicity based inequalities

People from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to be disproportionately affected by deprivation.

Data from Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government suggests that ethnic minorities are far more likely to live in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods. 

They are also more likely to live in overcrowded conditions and low-income households – defined as living on less than 60% of the average net disposable household income. 

According to data from the latest census, more than a fifth of people from Asian backgrounds live in overcrowded conditions (having less than the required number of bedrooms).

People from black backgrounds are 6 times more likely to be living in overcrowded households than white people. 

Access to primary care health services is generally equitable for ethnic minority groups.  

However, people from ethnic minority groups are more likely to report being in poorer health and have higher mortality rates.

Research from the Health Foundation’s REAL Centre suggests that individuals from South Asian backgrounds, particularly Bangladeshi and Pakistani, have higher incidences of diagnosed chronic pain, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.  

The prevalence of diagnosed chronic pain is around three fifths higher among Bangladeshi and Pakistani individuals compared to white individuals.

People from black African ethnicities also have a higher prevalence of chronic pain. 

Chronic pain among other conditions is also prevalent in deprived neighbourhoods. The prevalence of diagnosed chronic pain is more than double in the most deprived neighbourhoods compared to the least deprived neighbourhoods. 

However, cancer is more prevalent for people from white backgrounds and almost double than for people from South Asian backgrounds.

Hope for addressing health inequalities

The National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme was set up in 2021 to tackle healthcare inequalities and ensure equitable access to healthcare and it does provide some hope for tackling health inequalities.

The programme works to deliver projects and services targeted at people living in the most deprived areas in England and others who are disadvantaged.

This includes improving access to digital services and helping people gain employment.

Dr Owolabi said: “The NHS, as a commissioner, and provider of services, is able to materially influence health inequalities.”

Many cities have decided to focus extensively on implementing the policy changes envisaged by Marmot in his review.

These cities have been named ‘Marmot cities’ and have seen significant improvement in health inequalities.

There may be some early signs of success with the programme. Coventry was one of the first of these cities to adopt Marmot principles, and in the time since, Professor Marmot says: “The percentage of children aged five with a good level of development went up…

“The percentage of 18 to 24 year olds not in employment, education or training went up. And the proportion of people earning a real living wage went up.”

Sky News has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for a response to our findings.

Can we mend the NHS? Watch a special programme at 1800 with Mark Austin on Sky News

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed

Published

5 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed

A man who has spent 38 years in prison for murder has had his conviction quashed – but insisted he is “not angry” or “bitter”.

The Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Peter Sullivan ends what’s thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.

He was found guilty of the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall, who had been beaten, raped and left in an alleyway in Bebington, Merseyside.

Mr Sullivan – who was jailed in 1987 – had always maintained his innocence and first tried to challenge his conviction in 2016, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) declined to refer the case, and he lost his own appeal bid in 2019.

Two years later, he again asked the CCRC to refer his case and new tests, ordered by the commission, revealed Mr Sullivan’s DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.

At a hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Sullivan told the Court of Appeal in London that the new evidence showed that Ms Sindall’s killer “was not the defendant”.

Mr Sullivan attended the hearing via video link from HMP Wakefield, listening to his conviction being quashed with his head down and arms folded before appearing to weep and putting his hand to his mouth.

A relative in court also wept as the judgment was read out.

‘The truth shall set you free’

In a statement following the ruling, Mr Sullivan – now 68 – said: “I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.

“What happened to me was very wrong, but does not detract that what happened… was a heinous and most terrible loss of life.”

He added: “It is said the truth shall set you free. It is unfortunate that it does not give a timescale as we advance towards resolving the wrongs done to me.

“I am not angry, I am not bitter.

“I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family as I’ve got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world.”

Outside court, Mr Sullivan’s sister Kim Smith said she was “ecstatic” at seeing her brother’s conviction quashed.

She told reporters: “We lost Peter for 39 years and at the end of the day, it’s not just us; Peter hasn’t won, and neither has the Sindall family. They’ve lost their daughter, they are not going to get her back.

“We’ve got Peter back and now we’ve got to try and build a life around him again. We feel sorry for the Sindalls and it’s such a shame this has had to happen in the first place.”

Barristers for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the DNA evidence was “sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction” and that there was “no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed”.

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Bryan, said in light of the new DNA evidence “it is impossible to regard the appellant’s conviction as safe” as he quashed the conviction.

Hunt for DNA match

Merseyside Police has confirmed detectives are now “carrying out an extensive investigation in a bid to identify who the new DNA profile belongs to, as to date there is no match on the national DNA database”.

Detectives are also contacting individuals identified in the original investigation to request voluntary DNA samples.

That initial investigation was the largest in the force’s history and, for many officers, the “frenzied” nature of the attack made it the worst case they had ever encountered.

Ms Sindall, who was engaged to be married, had just left her shift as a part-time barmaid at a pub in Bebington when her small blue van ran out of petrol.

She was walking to an all-night garage when she was attacked.

Mr Sullivan, who was 29 at the time and described as a loner, initially denied the attack but later signed a confession.

Questions have since been raised about whether he had proper legal representation during police interviews. Evidence related to bite marks on Ms Sindall’s body, considered crucial at the trial, has also since been called into question.

At the time of Mr Sullivan’s trial in 1987, DNA technology was not available and subsequent requests for new tests had been refused.

‘Nobody felt safe’

On the grass verge close to where Ms Sindall’s body was found, a memorial stone has been placed in memory of her and “and all of our sisters who have been raped and murdered”.

Her murder sent a chill through the community and led to the creation of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre on Merseyside. “Nobody felt safe, it was a very scary time,” said the centre’s Jo Wood.

She says the uncertainty has resurfaced. “There’s someone out who killed Diane Sindall,” said solicitor Ms Myatt.

“The biggest fear we’ve got is of the unknown and now we’ve got an unknown. We don’t know who it might be. Who knows who this person is? Are we going to encounter him?

“We might have encountered him, we don’t know, we just know that he’s out there.”

Ms Sindall’s family told Sky News they did not want to comment on the case.

Mel John, landlord of the pub where Ms Sindall worked on the night of her death, said: “I’m glad he’s being released if he’s innocent. It has been a long time.”

Mr Sullivan is also aware, his solicitor says, of the impact on Ms Sindall’s family.

“We are very sensitive and respectful to the fact that there is a victim, Diane Sindall and her family, that will be affected by this process,” the solicitor said.

UK

Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club

Published

5 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club

Tory MP Patrick Spencer has been charged with two counts of sexual assault at London’s Groucho Club.

The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two different women at the private members’ club, in Soho, in August 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

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Mr Spencer – who is the Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich – will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday 16 June.

A Conservative Party spokesman said Mr Spencer, 37, has been suspended by the Tories and had the whip withdrawn.

The Metropolitan Police said he was charged after attending a voluntary interview at a London police station on 13 March this year.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.

“The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

Mr Spencer was first elected to Parliament last year with a majority of 4,290.

It is understood he was asked not to attend the parliamentary estate by the Tory chief whip while police enquiries were ongoing.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party believes in integrity and high standards. We have taken immediate action.

“Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect.

“The Conservative Party cannot comment further on an ongoing legal case.”

The Groucho Club, in Dean Street, opened in 1985 and became a renowned meeting place for A-list celebrities and others, including actors, comedians and media executives.

The club was named after the comedian and actor Groucho Marx, who reportedly once said he would refuse to join any club that would have him as a member.

It was originally set up as a more relaxed alternative to traditional gentlemen’s clubs, according to the venue’s website, which adds that members should be in the creative industry “and share the club’s maverick spirit”.

Before becoming an MP, Mr Spencer worked in finance for private equity firm IPGL, a company chaired by his father, former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Michael Spencer.

He later took a job at the Centre for Social Justice think thank before becoming a senior adviser at the Department for Education.

He made his maiden speech in the Commons in July last year during a debate on the MPs’ code of conduct relating to second jobs, during which he said the “most important thing to the people across my constituency” was “restoring a sense of moral probity and public spiritedness to our political system”.

Sky News has contacted Mr Spencer for comment.

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Man arrested over arson attacks after fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s house

Published

11 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Man arrested over arson attacks after fire at Sir Keir Starmer's house

A 21-year-old man has been arrested over a series of arson attacks, police have said, after a fire at a house owned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The suspect was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, according to the Metropolitan Police.

He remains in custody.

Emergency services were called to fires at the doors of two homes in north London within 24 hours of each other – one just after 1.35am on Monday in Kentish Town and the other on Sunday in Islington. Both properties are linked to Sir Keir.

Detectives were also checking a vehicle fire last Thursday on the same street as the Kentish Town property to see whether it is connected.

Part of the area was cordoned off as police and London Fire Brigade (LFB) investigators examined the scene.

Neighbours described hearing a loud bang and said police officers were looking for a projectile.

The prime minister is understood to still own the home, which was damaged by fire on Monday, but nobody was hurt. Pictures showed scorching at the entrance to the property.

Sir Keir used to live there before he and his family moved into 10 Downing Street after Labour won last year’s general election. It is believed the property is being rented out.

In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to the prime minister.

In a statement, police said: “As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it. All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I can only say that the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work and it is subject to a live investigation. So I can’t comment any further.”

Kemi Badenoch has condemned the suspected arson attacks.

Writing on X, the Conservative leader said: “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with the prime minister and his family. No one should face these sorts of threats, let alone people in public service.

“It’s an attack on our democracy and must never be tolerated.”

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News on Tuesday: “It’s important that the prime minister and anyone in public life has their family, their homes, protected.

“It is absolutely wrong, disgraceful, for any individual to take the kind of action that we saw against the prime minister’s home.”