Health Equals | Check Your Life Expectancy

Helen, Wakefield

Helen grew up in a mining family and understands how deeply health and opportunity can shape people’s lives. Her grandfather died in his forties and would never have imagined that the area she now calls home would one day have the lowest female life expectancy in the district.

Living in a community surrounded by former mining towns, Helen has seen the impact of inequality firsthand. She has worked alongside people affected by addiction, cares for her mother who has dementia, and has lost family members and friends through ill health and suicide.

I think it’s fundamentally wrong and unfair that where you live determines how long you might live.

Her experiences have convinced her that health is about far more than medical care alone.

Health is about much more than healthcare. The opportunities available in our communities can and do shape health across generations.
It’s really unfair that someone up the road from me is expected to live longer and be healthier because they have access to things that others don’t. Not just to money but all the things we need to live long, healthy and happy lives.

Now 61 herself, she reflects on what current trends mean for people and communities across the country.

I’m 61 now. That’s the current healthy life expectancy across the UK. Is it all downhill from here? All the building blocks need to be in place, at the same time, and available to all of us.

Fe, Leeds

Having lived in Leeds city centre since she was two years old, Fe has witnessed first-hand how access to green space can shape people’s lives and wellbeing.

As a child, she spent hours with friends in a large grassy area behind her estate.

We would play in this imaginary wilderness for hours, rolling down the mini hills, running through the long grass reeds, exploring wildflowers, making mud pies, sitting and making daisy chains, looking for four leaf clovers, sharing sweets and stories.

For Fe, green space provided adventure, friendship and a connection to nature right on her doorstep. But by the time she was 11 or 12, the grassland had been replaced by office buildings, and years of further development have left the city centre with very little green space for residents to enjoy.

Today, Fe is passionate about the role green spaces play in creating healthier communities. Her story is a powerful reminder that safe, welcoming green spaces are not just nice to have – they are an essential part of healthy, thriving communities.

I’m a happy person by nature, but even I now feel the negative impact of more people and no green spaces on my mental wellbeing and breathing.

Tina, South Tyneside

Tina from South Shields, in South Tyneside, was forced to leave the job she loved at 60 because of ill health. Volunteering with local organisations like Women’s Health in South Tyneside (WHIST) and staying connected to her community has helped her cope with illness and given her a purpose.

Health inequality is a reality, not just statistics. In some areas of the UK the life expectancy gap is growing, but in today’s society you would expect the opposite. From my own experience of suffering from long-term illness, fibromyalgia; and losing my husband recently aged just 65, I know first-hand that heath inequity matters.
I used to be a Trade Unionist and one factor affecting health is employment. We have lost a lot of industries here and we have become a service economy. This affects job opportunities, wages and secure employment. We are losing our high streets and our shops too. Local government has had major cuts, leading to job cuts through not replacing positions when people leave and through voluntary redundancies. A job is not for life anymore.
For me it is about what can be done – what’s the next steps? The government needs to look at this. It is not just about health – it is about what makes you healthy. We need cross party policy looking at employment, housing, transport and poverty which all contribute to health. It’s not about one single issue. It’s complex and that’s why the government needs to look at this more widely. It’s not about easy solutions but it’s not impossible if it is looked at in a different way.

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Helen, Wakefield

Fe, Leeds

Tina, South Tyneside