Avoidable deaths among children and young people on the rise, according to latest ONS statistics

The latest report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the rate of avoidable deaths among children and young people in England has been increasing since 2020, while the overall number of avoidable deaths has been decreasing.

Avoidable deaths, defined as either preventable or treatable for those under 75 years old, have dropped in England from 23.8% in 2021 to 21.7% in 2022.

But the age-standardised avoidable mortality rates (ASMR) for young people in England was 9.6 per 100,000 people, compared with 8.1 in 2020 and 9.1 in 2019. This indicates a rising trend in avoidable deaths among young people in England since 2020.

A spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said: "Our data show "Injuries" is the category with most deaths each year for children and young people."

In 2022, the treatable mortality rate (ASMR) in England was 83.1 deaths per 100,000 people, higher than the rates in 2019 and 2021, which were 80.6 and 80.2 respectively.

Veena Raleigh, Senior Fellow of The King’s Fund, said: “This heavy burden of avoidable ill health and mortality has devastating consequences for individuals, families, communities and the economy.

“Preventing ill health and reducing premature deaths is surely one of the biggest challenges of our age, and while political parties have set out some measures to improve public health, such as committing to a smokefree generation, none of them match the scale of reform needed to bring about serious change.”

Ms Raleigh added that without a significant refocusing of policy to improve the nation's wellbeing and build a healthy workforce, the political aspirations for economic growth are unlikely to be realised.

The Department of Health and Social Care were approached for comment but declined due to the up coming general election.