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Lincolnshire County Council director of public health discusses data on life expectancy and illness




People in Lincolnshire are living longer but are experiencing poorer health, according to the county's director of public health.

In a report presented to Lincolnshire County Council's Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday (January 22), Derek Ward explained that about a quarter of our residents are aged 65 and older, a figure expected to rise by 41% by 2043. The county’s population aged over 85 is projected to almost double during the same period.

Residents have been identified as having increasing long-term health needs, with more than half classified as having high needs or long-term conditions requiring comprehensive support.

Lincolnshire's director of public health Derek Ward
Lincolnshire's director of public health Derek Ward

However, the county’s diverse geography—largely rural and coastal, with many small, scattered communities—poses challenges for health and wellbeing. Furthermore, some areas in the north and east of the county face high levels of deprivation, a significant driver of poor health outcomes.

At the age of 65, males living in Lincolnshire on average live for a further 18.5 years, but will spend 8.3 of these in ill health. Females, on the other hand, live for a further 20.8 years on average, with 10.5 of those years in ill health.

"Lincolnshire’s health system must respond to these challenges and meet the growing health needs of our population. However, the current picture is one of an overburdened hospital system as pressures on A&E and waiting lists continue to mount," wrote Mr Ward.

"At the same time, demand for primary and community care services is ever increasing, without the investment to match."

In response to the data, the public health director outlined key practices to take forward:

*Helping people stay well for longer, with a focus on prevention and self-care.

*Streamlined access to services and a shift towards technology.

*Providing personalised care through multidisciplinary team working.

Speaking specifically on the topic of technology, Mr Ward highlighted that roughly twice the number of people have registered for the NHS app as for Netflix.

"It is there; it’s just not being used in the same level of detail," he told the committee.

In his report, Mr Ward continued: "More focus on prevention at all stages of life and wellbeing is key to reducing and delaying our risks of poor health. None of us should be unsure of the best ways to protect our own health and where to find trusted sources of information, advice and support.

"When we need some support, we need our own networks of friends and family to be around to lend a hand, and we should have easy access to community-based health workers near where we live who can assist us.

"Many of us make use of digital tools to access this help. It’s important that more of us are supported in making effective use of technology to do everything from learning how to manage our own health to knowing where to look when we are poorly. We need more than just some of us to be encouraged to go digital when we have evidence of the benefits that digital can have for the unconnected people in our county.

"Services need to be closer to where we live and work, and they should work together as one system, or where this is not possible as simple systems. These systems need to be centred on what we need and what matters to us, from the top level of design down to the conversations we have with people"



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