Nearly one in four deaths in England and Wales ‘are avoidable’

New figures from the Office for National Statistics have indicated that nearly one-quarter of all deaths in England and Wales may be potentially avoidable.

A total of 116,000 avoidable deaths were counted in the figures for 2014, with more than one-third of these caused by tumours. Avoidable death rates were significantly higher in Wales than England, where the north-east had the worst rates.

Males had a higher proportion of avoidable deaths than females, with the proportions standing at 29 percent and 18 percent respectively, while among children and young people, the rate was around one-third, or 1,443 deaths in total.

Dr Anne Campbell from the Office for National Statistics said: "People who die prematurely from avoidable causes lose an average of 23 potential years of life. For children and young people, this figure rises to 72 years."

The Department of Health has responded to the figures by noting the money it is investing in driving earlier cancer diagnosis and dementia research, while the Welsh government emphasised its efforts to tackle smoking, alcohol abuse and hospital infections.