Over one in five deaths in 2023 in England could have been avoided with ‘timely and effective’ healthcare or public health interventions, new data has suggested.
This week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its analysis of ‘avoidable mortality’, revealing that in England 21.6% of deaths were considered preventable or treatable, while in Wales the same figure was 22.7%.
The data, which covers deaths of those aged under 75 years, showed that avoidable mortality rates in both countries are ‘still higher than in 2019′, before the pandemic, and are also higher in more deprived areas.
In England, the rate for the most deprived decile was 3.9 times higher than the least deprived decile for males, and 3.5 times higher among females.
The ONS found that in 2023, the leading cause of avoidable mortality in both countries remained cancers, followed by cardiovascular diseases.
The report said: ‘Around one in five deaths in 2023 were considered preventable or treatable in England (21.6%) and in Wales (22.7%); this is a similar proportion of avoidable deaths to the previous year, and premature mortality rates are still higher than pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels in both countries.’
Avoidable mortality rates in England and Wales increased throughout the Covid-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2021. They decreased from 2021 to 2022 – but the latest dataset shows that from 2022 to 2022, the rates are ‘no longer decreasing’.
Avoidable deaths are considered as those which could have been prevented through ‘effective public health and primary prevention interventions’, or those which could have been treated with healthcare interventions ‘after the onset of disease’.
In 2023, of the 544,054 deaths in England, 117,527 were considered avoidable. And of these avoidable deaths, 75,694 ‘could be attributed to conditions considered preventable’, while 41,834 could be considered treatable.
The report added: ‘Neoplasms (cancers) are classified as an avoidable cause of death because some cancers (including lung, liver and skin cancers) are classified as preventable, and others (including breast cancer and testicular cancer) are classified as treatable.
‘Therefore, deaths caused by treatable cancers are considered to be avoidable through timely and effective healthcare interventions after their onset.
‘Neoplasms remain the leading cause of avoidable mortality in both England and Wales, even though the avoidable mortality rates for neoplasms have continued to decline in both countries.’
The Health Foundation’s senior analytical manager Anna Gazzillo said there are ‘deep and persistent inequalities across the country’, citing the fact that avoidable death rates in a deprived area such as Blackpool are 3.6 times higher than ‘in the more affluent Hart’.
She continued: ‘Although cancers remain the leading cause of avoidable mortality, trends in avoidable alcohol and drug death rates are particularly concerning.
‘In England, in 2023, these were almost 30% higher than before the pandemic and about 50% higher than in 2013.’
Ms Gazillo said there is an ‘urgent need’ for the Government to ‘make good on its commitment to reduce unacceptable health inequalities and tackle the root causes of ill health’.
In February, the Government uplifted funding for public health services in England by nearly £200m for 2025/26, meaning the Public Health Grant increased by 5.4%.
It said this investment is a ‘key part’ of its plans to shift focus from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention.
