Latest healthy life expectancy data sees Barnsley taking positive steps towards healthier outcomes for our borough

Recently published Office for National Statistics data has seen Barnsley’s average healthy life expectancy rise, indicating residents are starting to enjoy more years living in good health.

Published annually, the average healthy life expectancy in Barnsley now sits at 55.3 years for women, up from 52.6 years in last year’s report, and 55.2 years for men, up from 52.9 years.

These latest figures also see Barnsley moving up the national rankings, helping us compare our performance against other areas, and show we’re narrowing the gap on the national averages, reducing the difference by 3.3 years for women and 2.9 years for men.

Calculated using mortality data and how people report feeling about their health, healthy life expectancy estimates the average number of years someone can expect to live in good health.

This improved picture for Barnsley reflects the great work that’s already underway to support the health and wellbeing of our communities, including:

• We have recently achieved our lowest levels of smoking prevalence since current records began, showing how our strong, partnership-led approach to this issue is helping to make smoking invisible in Barnsley.
• Physical activity levels for our children and young people in Barnsley are above the national averages, something helped by our What’s Your Move initiative.
• The number of school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs in Barnsley is now lower than the national average. We’re taking a strong partnership approach in Barnsley to coordinate our efforts across social care, education, health and the voluntary sector to improve young people’s mental wellbeing.

While this data shows that we’re moving in the right direction, we know there’s still more work to do to bring Barnsley’s healthy life expectancy figures in line with the national averages.

That’s why our Public Health team recently launched our first-ever Healthy Life Expectancy Strategy, setting out our ambitions to improve health outcomes for Barnsley people.

Lots of different factors shape our health, including what we can achieve in our education, our ability to access good-quality employment and living in safe, stable, warm homes.

Exploring the different factors shaping health in Barnsley, this strategy looks at what’s working well, how we build on these successes and where we now need to focus our efforts.

Setting out how we will work together with our partners and communities to change health outcomes and tackle health inequalities, we’ve identified three priority areas:

• Placing a rigorous focus on the first 1,001 days of a child’s life, giving our young people the best possible start in life.
• Doing more for those who need it most, using data to help us target interventions and ensure they’re working effectively for our communities.
• Thinking about how we develop our neighbourhood approaches to health, making sure they’re built around the communities' people live in.

Anna Hartley, Director of Public Health, said:

“We’re committed to taking innovative approaches to improving health and wellbeing in Barnsley, making sure our communities can access the right support at the right time and place for them.

"It’s therefore great to see Barnsley’s healthy life expectancy numbers improving, reflecting the great work that’s already helping to tackle health inequalities in our borough and make sure residents have the right building blocks to live life in good health.

“These latest figures show we’re moving in the right direction, but we want to go further. Guided by our Healthy Life Expectancy Strategy, we will continue to work across our services and with our partners to address the different factors impacting health in Barnsley.”

Councillor Wendy Cain, Cabinet Spokesperson for Public Health and Communities, said:

“We want to make sure everyone in our communities can live happier, longer lives in good physical and mental health. We’ve always been ambitious in our plans to create a Healthy Barnsley for everyone, so it’s great to see our healthy life expectancy numbers increasing.

"This wouldn’t be possible without the fantastic local initiatives that are supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities and improving what’s possible for our residents.

“Whether we’re fostering stronger community connections through Love Where You Live or working closely with Barnsley’s brilliant health services to make sure residents have the right support, we will continue to make sure our plans are inspired by our residents.”

You can learn more about this year’s national healthy life expectancy data, including how it’s calculated, by visiting the Office for National Statistics’ website.