Health and Wellbeing – A Summary
The Council and its partners are committed to improving health and wellbeing and encouraging healthy lifestyles for all residents of Wolverhampton. A vision has been developed for the city which is set out in the City Strategy which all partner agencies in the city have signed up to, including the Wolverhampton Partnership, City Council, Primary Care Trust and West Midlands Police etc. The Strategy sets out three main themes and health and wellbeing features within the ‘empowering people and communities’ theme. The strategy covers promoting healthier childhood diets, tackling adult obesity, encouraging participation in sports and recreation and supporting vulnerable adults to live independently. By 2026 the aspiration is that the City will be home to residents who are active, healthy members of a large community that are encouraged to have a voice to shape services and their futures.
Health
People in Wolverhampton are living longer than ever before and the gap between life expectancy in the city and the national figure is closing. We know that socio-economic factors affect life expectancy. In Wolverhampton and similarly disadvantaged communities, the determinants of health such as skills, jobs and housing, are well below the national average. There are six conditions which account for over half of the difference in life expectancy that exists between Wolverhampton and England. These are heart disease, stroke, infant mortality, lung cancer, suicide and alcohol. This is seen disproportionally in the most disadvantaged communities. Deaths due to alcohol and those occurring in infancy are the major reasons why life expectancy has not improved.
As such the council, primary care trust and other public agencies in the city are working to improve the lives of Wolverhampton residents.
Life Expectancy – Life expectancy refers to the average length of time people can expect to live. Men in Wolverhampton currently live an average of 76.5 years, which is lower than the England average of 78 years.