Health in Wales

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Health in Wales refers to the overall health of the population of Wales.

Contents

Public Health Wales

The Public Health Wales Observatory produces annual Demography Profiles for the Welsh local health boards and has done since 2009. The Observatory is part of the Health Intelligence Division of Public Health Wales. [1]

Health Service

As health is a devolved power, from the UK Government, it is the responsibility of the Minister for Health and Social Services for Wales and the Welsh Government, which are responsible for the running of the National Health Service in Wales, all aspects of public health and health protection in Wales, the Food Standards Agency in Wales, post-graduate medical education and any charges for NHS services. [2]

Prescriptions

In 2007, Wales became the first UK country to introduce free prescriptions. to all its citizens. [3]

Children smoking and drinking in Wales 1986-2020. Children smoking and drinking in Wales.png
Children smoking and drinking in Wales 1986-2020.
Percentage of children and adults meeting recommended physical activity 2019-20 children, and 2021 adults. Percentage of children and adults meeting recommended physical activity 2019-20 children, and 2021 adults.png
Percentage of children and adults meeting recommended physical activity 2019-20 children, and 2021 adults.
Life satisfaction in Wales 2012-2020. Life satisfaction in Wales.png
Life satisfaction in Wales 2012-2020.

Smoking and drinking

In April 2007, ahead of England, it became the first to ban smoking in NHS hospitals and in 2019, the first country in the UK to ban smoking in outdoor school spaces, playgrounds and hospital grounds. [4]

January to March of 2020-21:

Previous years shows no significant change in the proportion of adult reporting less than two healthy lifestyle behaviours between 2016-17 and 2019-20.

Smoking and drinking rates for children fell significantly between 2002 and 2014, and have not changed significantly in 2018-2020. The proportion of children who followed less than two healthy lifestyle behaviours hasn’t changed for 2021 at 12%. [5]

Exercise

32% of adults took part in sport at least three times a week during the 2019-20 period, which was the same level as the previous two years. The proportion of adults not partaking in any sport also stayed stable at 41%.

Those more likely to partake in sporting activities three or more times a week included: men, younger age groups and people in employment.

The latest school sports survey, which is from 2018, showed that 48% of pupils from Year 3 to Year 11 participated in sports 3 times a week, similarly to 2015. This followied a large increase innactivity from 2013 to 2015.

Change in exercise levels during the pandemic varied. Study by Sport Wales showed that inequalities in sport participation increased during the covid pandemic. Older adults and adults in lower socio-economic groups were most likely to participate in sport less frequently. Children from lower socio-economic households were also less likely to participate in sport less frequently. [5]

Mental health

The average life satisfaction has been increasing since 2011-12 up until the covid pandemic. Average anxiety levels have also slightly reduced up until this point. The most recent data collected before the onset of the covid pandemic showed a slight deterioration in life satisfaction and anxiety. [5]

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth was 82.1 years for women and 78.3 years for men for the period 2018-20. [6]

Analysis using 2017 to 2019 statistics showed that the gap in the "healthy" life expectancy (measured using sloped index of inequality) was 17 years for males and 18.3 years for females and remains stable. [6]

"Healthy" life expectancy was only 61.7 years in Wales in 2020, and just 50.7 years in the most deprived communities according to BHF Cymru. [7]

Causes of death

Welsh men were expected to live an average of 78.3 years and women 82.3 years in 2014 - about a year less than in England. [8]

West Wales and the Valleys had the second-highest death rate from respiratory diseases of any region in Europe in 2015 at 152 per 100,000 population. [9]

The number of alcohol-related deaths in Wales was 504 in 2016 8.9% more than in the previous year. There were also 271 drug poisoning deaths, involving both legal and illegal drugs, compared with 238 in 2015. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life expectancy</span> Measure of average lifespan in a given population

Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth. This can be defined in two ways. Cohort LEB is the mean length of life of a birth cohort and can be computed only for cohorts born so long ago that all their members have died. Period LEB is the mean length of life of a hypothetical cohort assumed to be exposed, from birth through death, to the mortality rates observed at a given year. National LEB figures reported by national agencies and international organizations for human populations are estimates of period LEB.

Lifestyle diseases can be defined as diseases linked with one's lifestyle. These diseases are non-communicable diseases. They are caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating, alcohol, substance use disorders and smoking tobacco, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, obesity, type II diabetes and lung cancer. The diseases that appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer include Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, atherosclerosis, asthma, cancer, chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney failure, osteoporosis, PCOD, stroke, depression, obesity and vascular dementia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedentary lifestyle</span> Type of lifestyle involving little or no physical activity

Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like socializing, watching TV, playing video games, reading or using a mobile phone or computer for much of the day. A sedentary lifestyle contributes to poor health quality, diseases as well as many preventable causes of death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urdd Gobaith Cymru</span> Welsh voluntary youth organisation

Urdd Gobaith Cymru is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part in a range of experiences through the medium of Welsh. The Urdd turned 100 on 25 January 2022 and celebrated by breaking two Guinness World Records.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigarette and tobacco sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHS Wales</span> Publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales

NHS Wales is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.

People with schizophrenia are at a higher than average risk of physical ill health, and earlier death than the general population. The fatal conditions include cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Europe</span>

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Health in the United Kingdom refers to the overall health of the population of the United Kingdom. This includes overall trends such as life expectancy and mortality rates, mental health of the population and the suicide rate, smoking rates, alcohol consumption, prevalence of diseases within the population and obesity in the United Kingdom. Three of these – smoking rates, alcohol consumption and obesity – were above the OECD average in 2015.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of obesity in the United Kingdom

Obesity in the United Kingdom is a significant contemporary health concern, with authorities stating that it is one of the leading preventable causes of death. In February 2016, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt described rising rates of childhood obesity as a "national emergency". The National Childhood Measurement Programme, which measures obesity prevalence among school-age pupils in reception class and year 6, found obesity levels rocketed in both years groups by more than 4 percentage points between 2019–20 and 2020–21, the highest rise since the programme began. Among reception-aged children, those aged four and five, the rates of obesity rose from 9.9% in 2019–20 to 14.4% in 2020–21. By the time they are aged 10 or 11, more than a quarter are obese. In just 12 months, the rate is up from 21% in 2019–20 to 25.5% in 2020–21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Change4Life</span> Public health programme in England

Change4Life is a public health programme in England which began in January 2009, run by Public Health England. It was the country's first national social marketing campaign to tackle the causes of obesity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public Health England</span> Executive agency in UK health system

Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a result of the reorganisation of the National Health Service (NHS) in England outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It took on the role of the Health Protection Agency, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and a number of other health bodies. It was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct delivery organisation with operational autonomy.

Health in Malta has seen improvements in recent years, with one of the highest life expectancies in Europe. Malta has a good overall quality of health and has seen rapid growth and improvement in key health indicators. Malta has seen significant development in the practice of mental health which has been supported by new infrastructure and increased government health spending. The introduction of health-focused government initiatives, particularly around nutrition, alcohol, smoking, and health will likely contribute to the further improvement of overall health nationwide.

Montenegro is a country with an area of 13,812 square kilometres and a population of 620,029, according to the 2011 census. The country is bordered by Croatia, the Adriatic Sea, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. The most common health issues faced are non-communicable diseases accounting for 95% of all deaths. This is followed by 4% of mortality due to injury, and 1% due to communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions. Other health areas of interest are alcohol consumption, which is the most prevalent disease of addiction within Montenegro and smoking. Montenegro has one of the highest tobacco usage rates across Europe. Life expectancy for men is 74 years, and life expectancy for women is 79.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Wales</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Wales

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Wales on 28 February 2020, with a case being reported in the Swansea area; this first known case was a person who had recently returned from Italy. The first known case of community transmission was reported on 11 March in the Caerphilly area.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales during 2021. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales during 2022. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing</span> Welsh Government minister

The Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing is a deputy minister of the Welsh Government, accountable to the cabinet minister for health and social services. Established as a cabinet position in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, it was moved to a junior position in 2021. The current officeholder is Lynne Neagle since May 2021.

References

  1. "Populations". NHS Wales. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. "Welsh Government | Lesley Griffiths AM". Archived from the original on 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  3. Hart, Edwina. "HELPING TO IMPROVE WALES'S HEALTH: FREE PRESCRIPTIONS THREE YEARS ON" (PDF). NHS Wales. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  4. "Wales to ban smoking outside hospitals and schools in UK first". Guardian News & Media Limited. The Guardian. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Wellbeing of Wales: 2021". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  6. 1 2 "Wellbeing of Wales: 2021". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  7. "Thousands of deaths in Wales every year could be prevented according to BHF Cymru". News from Wales. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. "Life expectancy increases in Wales". BBC. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  9. Ballas, Dimitris; Dorling, Danny; Hennig, Benjamin (2017). The Human Atlas of Europe. Bristol: Policy Press. p. 72. ISBN   9781447313540.
  10. "Alcohol-related deaths on the rise in Wales". Pharmaceutical Journal. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.