Bolton has a higher rate of avoidable deaths than the North West average, new figures show.

Avoidable mortality is defined as deaths caused by either preventable or treatable health conditions for those aged under 75.

They can be avoided through effective public health and timely healthcare interventions.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 2,590 avoidable deaths in Bolton between 2020 and 2022, with 69 per cent of them considered preventable.

The area had a rate of 345 avoidable deaths per 100,000 people – significantly up from 286 in 2017-19, before the pandemic.

This was higher than the North West average of 310.

The North West had the highest rate and the most avoidable deaths recorded at 61,503, while the South West had the lowest rate – 211.

Men saw a higher rate of avoidable deaths in every area across the country. In Bolton it stood at 437 and 256 for women.

Cllr Sean Fielding who is Bolton Council’s cabinet member for health, said: “These shocking figures speak to the shameful health inequalities which exist in our country, and which have widened over the last decade.

“Bolton Council and partners in the health sector work hard with the resources we have but these resources have been slashed by the Conservative and Conservative-led governments of the last 14 years.

"The value of public health funding in 2023/24 is 10 per cent less in real terms than it was in 2013/14. Because of population growth, it's shrunk by even more per person.

"Just as with any budget, if you have a tenth less, you can buy a tenth less.

“Locally we've therefore not been able to make the public health interventions required to prevent these figures from getting worse.

"July 4 can't come soon enough so we can finally sweep away this cruel Conservative government and replace it with one which doesn't actively choose to make people poorer, sicker or cause them to die early."

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In 2022, 22 per cent of total deaths at all ages in England and Wales were considered avoidable – down from 24 per cent in 2021.

The ONS said cancer was the leading cause of avoidable mortality in 2022, but it has declined steadily since 2001, while the mortality rate for alcohol-related and drug-related deaths has continued to increase.

Kathryn Marszalek, senior analytical manager at the Health Foundation, said: "While avoidable mortality rates have fallen since 2021, they are still higher than pre-pandemic levels.

"However, this will still include the many Covid deaths in 2022.

"The next government faces an uphill challenge in improving the population's health and reducing inequalities.

"Improving health needs long-term cross-government action ranging from ensuring good-quality jobs and housing to investing in wider public services and ensuring that everyone has equitable access to health care services."

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