Shocking mortality rate revealed amid the battle for hospital to be rebuilt

MANCHESTER had the second-highest mortality rate in England last year meaning residents had a higher risk of dying than people living almost anywhere else in the country.

- HELENA VESTY, RICHARD AULT

Meanwhile, their hospital crumbles and the government still refuses to commit to the rebuild it has been promised for FIVE years.

Official statistics show around 581,000 deaths were registered in England and Wales in 2023, an increase of 0.7 per cent compared to the 577,000 deaths the previous year.

For the third consecutive year, there were more male deaths (295,000) than female (286,000). But mortality rates are widely different across the nation.

The Office for National Statistics 'age-standardised mortality rates' to compare areas with different population sizes and age demographics.

For every 100,000 people living in Manchester, there were 1,288 deaths last year. That's the equivalent of a better than one in 100 chance of dying in the year.

The figures come as the M.E.N. is campaigning for the government to commit to the urgent rebuilding of North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH). It could drastically improve lives in an area where people die younger and live in ill health longer - an area where people lose a decade compared to those in other parts of the country.