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MAN ALIVE!
On average men die four years younger than women
- Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent
- Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent
THE NHS will be told how to help men live as long as women in England’s first ever men’s health strategy.
Ministers are drawing up the document with the help of experts who have 12 weeks to submit their suggestions.
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The strategy will aim to reduce rates of suicide, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, as well as improving care for prostate and testicular cancers.
English men die an average of four years younger than women, with a life expectancy of 78.8 years compared to 82.8.
A women’s health strategy was published in 2022 by the previous government.
The Department of Health has now launched a call for evidence for people to submit information and guidance for the men’s policy.
Read more on men's health
It will aim to improve disease prevention, speed up diagnosis and develop better treatments.
Too many men are dying young
Amy O'ConnorMovember
Officials must also encourage blokes to use the health service properly as they are typically less likely to see a doctor than women.
Amy O’Connor, of men’s health charity Movember, said: “Too many men are dying too young and this is a once in a generation opportunity for positive change.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting added: “Every day, men across England are dying early from preventable causes.
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“They are hit harder by a range of conditions, while tragically suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50.
“We will tackle these issues head on through a men's health strategy, and this call for evidence is the crucial next step in understanding what works, what doesn't, and how we can design services men will actually use.”
ENGLAND 'NEEDS MEN'S HEALTH TSAR'
MEN should have a dedicated minister to address blokes’ poor health and early deaths, MPs heard in an investigation into health inequalities.
Many males do not visit the doctor between childhood and middle-age and are less likely to take time away from work to get checked out, it was said last year.
In 2022, the Department ofHealthlaunched a women’s health strategy and appointed a dedicated minister —Maria Caulfield— to improve female healthcare.
However, as yet, there is no equivalent for fellas.
Martin Tod, of the Men’s Health Forum, told the Commons Health Committee: “Everybody knows men die earlier, and drink more and smoke more.
"Everybody knows they are more likely to die of cancer or heart disease, yet nothing is done.
“This is a problem that is hiding in plain sight.
“We need to put something into the system, whether it’s a strategy, a minister, or a clinical lead in the NHS — probably all of those — to say, ‘It’s time to change’.”
Topics
- Cancer (disease)
- Health warnings
- Heart disease
- Mental Health and illness
- NHS
- NHS crisis
- England
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