Commissioner responds to report highlighting significant falls in healthy life expectancy
Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Rhian Bowen-Davies, said:
“I am deeply concerned by the findings of the report published today by the Health Foundation, which highlight that healthy life expectancy has fallen, with Wales seeing the sharpest decline across the four nations.
“It is also concerning that there are significant and growing gaps between the healthy life expectancies of people living in the wealthiest areas compared to those living in the poorest.
“The fact there has been such a steep decline in health life expectancy, particularly when compared to other high-income countries, should act as a wakeup call to governments across the UK, who need to work together to address this.
“Improving healthy life expectancy must be a key government target, both here in Wales and across the UK, and we need to see greater investment in prevention and supporting good health throughout the life course to enable this.
“Without this action we are likely to see further falls in healthy life expectancy, which will bring further significant costs – not just to individuals in terms of further reductions to quality of life and reduced opportunities to participate, but also more widely in terms increased health and social care costs and reduced productivity.
“Alongside this long-term work, we also need to see immediate action to improve services and support for people living in poor health so they can have the best possible quality of life. This should include action within the NHS, such as reducing waiting lists and times, as well as wider action on other issues that impact upon people’s health and wellbeing, such as poverty or struggling financially, and loneliness and isolation.
“Tackling these issues in both the immediate and longer-term must be a priority for the next Welsh Government and will be essential to reduce inequalities and ensure that people are not just living longer but also have the opportunities they need to live and age well.”
