Healthy life expectancy lower than average in Rochdale

Healthy life expectancy for males

Men and women in Rochdale have a much lower than average healthy life expectancy (HLE) of 59.7 years and 58.1 years respectively, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The HLE for men in the North West is 61 years and women 61.8 years and in England is 63.2 years and women 64.2 years.

The lowest HLE was in Manchester for men, at 55 years, and Tower Hamlets for women at 54.1 years - the highest is Richmond upon Thames where men have an HLE of 70.3 years and women 72.1 years.

Whereas life expectancy is an estimate of how many years a person might be expected to live, healthy life expectancy is an estimate of how many years they might live in a 'healthy' state.

The ONS figures relate to HLE at birth for upper tier local authorities in England between 2009 and 2011, and point to a North-South divide in both life expectancy and HLE for men and women.

Rochdale Council, like all local councils, has received ring-fenced budgets to help local people get healthier and to reduce health inequalities.

The Health and Social Care Act sets out the first ever specific legal duties on health inequalities for NHS England, clinical commissioning groups, and for the Secretary of State.