#health-inequalities

#health-inequalities

A major new report from Sport England and 4Global has strengthened calls for the Government to increase support for gyms, swimming pools and public leisure centres in the forthcoming Autumn Budget, warning that the sector is delivering billions in social value despite operating under severe financial pressure. The annual Moving Communities report highlights the critical role these facilities play in improving national health and wellbeing, with public leisure centres contributing an estimated £3.63 billion in social value between April 2024 and March 2025.

More than 60,000 cancer patients a year in England are not getting the radiotherapy they need at all, while some face waits of up to six months to begin the treatment, research has found. The situation is so dire that nearly 100 heads of radiotherapy and oncology three-quarters of England's radiotherapy leaders have warned in an open letter that the government is failing patients.

A couple whose son was stillborn have criticised health bosses for taking a year and a half to release a report about stillbirth rates in the Black Country. Thomas and Ewa Hender say they asked the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) to release details in April, when they first became aware of the report. It was actually completed 18 months ago, but it has only recently been released in full - a "worrying" delay, Mr Hender said.

Dramatic increases in life expectancy are one of the defining achievements of the modern era. From 56 years for men and 60 for women in the UK a century ago, this vital measure of the quantity of life rose to 79 and 83 respectively in 2022. The trend towards increased longevity is global, although not all countries have seen gains on the same scale, and the pandemic sent it into temporary reverse.

Disadvantaged primary school pupils at the government's first wave of new breakfast clubs can expect to be trained in toothbrushing, as well as fed. Data showing that a fifth of all five-year-olds in England have experienced tooth decay persuaded ministers to make improved oral health part of the early years and reception class curriculum. But the prevalence of decay is not evenly spread across the country.