Adult health & wellbeing

Adult health and wellbeing covers a broad range of topics impacting people’s physical and mental health. The Annual Population Survey in 2022/23 showed 80% of people in Norfolk have high or very high life satisfaction (similar to the English average) and 16% have medium life satisfaction, with just 4% reporting low life satisfaction.^[1]

In 2023 the directly standardised under 75 mortality rate from all causes for Norfolk was slightly better than the English average.^[2] The inequality in life expectancy for men and women in Norfolk is also lower than for England and the East of England. Inequality in life expectancy is assessed by considering how life expectancy varies across areas with different levels of deprivation according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).^[3]

A significant part of the burden on health services arises from long-term conditions including Diabetes, Atrial Fibrillation (irregular heart beat), Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Strokes and TIAs (‘mini-strokes’). In 2023/24 there was estimated to be 67,000 people in Norfolk living with diabetes, representing 8.4% of the adult population. This proportion is higher than for the East of England and England as a whole (7.6% and 7.7% respectively in 2023/24).^[4]

The prevalence of some long-term conditions and the demand placed on services can be influenced by lifestyle choices and healthy behaviours. An estimated 12% of adults in Norfolk reported currently smoking in 2023/24, similar to both the East of England and overall English averages.^[5]

1. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/datasets/headlineestimatesofpersonalwellbeing
2. fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-profiles/data#page/1/gid/1938132696/pat/6/ati/502/are/E10000020/iid/90366/age/1/sex/1/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/3/cid/4/tbm/1
3. fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-profiles/data#page/1/gid/1938133217/pat/6/par/E12000006/ati/502/are/E10000020/yrr/3/cid/4/tbm/1
4. fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/diabetes-ft/data#page/1/gid/1938133439/pat/15/ati/502/are/E10000020/iid/241/age/187/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1
5. fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-profiles/data#page/1/gid/1938132694/pat/6/par/E12000006/ati/502/are/E10000020/iid/92904/age/173/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/3/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/car-do-042

The Annual Population Survey in 2022/23 showed 80% of people in Norfolk have high or very high life satisfaction (similar to the English average) and 16% have medium life satisfaction, with just 4% reporting low life satisfaction. However, nearly a quarter of people (22%) report having high anxiety.^[6]

Nationally, 17% of adults are estimated to have common mental disorders.^[7] If this is applied to the 2023 population estimates for Norfolk, then it implies approximately 93,000 people aged 16 to 64 in Norfolk have common mental disorders.^[8]

There were 1,155 emergency hospital admissions for intentional self-harm in Norfolk in the year 2023/24. This is a directly standardised rate of approximately 130 per 100,000 people, higher than the average English directly standardised rate of 117 per 100,000.^[9]

In Norfolk, over the three years 2021-23, 274 people died by suicide, a directly standardised rate of 11 per 100,000 – similar to the English average. 78% of the suicide deaths in Norfolk over this time period were male.^[10]

In 2023 the directly standardised under 75 mortality rate from all causes for Norfolk was slightly better than the English average.^[11] The inequality in life expectancy for men and women in Norfolk is lower than for England and the East of England. Inequality in life expectancy is assessed by considering how life expectancy varies across areas with different levels of deprivation according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).^[12]

In Norfolk 34% of the adult population was seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months before April 2024 compared to 40% for England as a whole. During 2023/24, 43% of children in Norfolk were seen by an NHS dentist compared to 55% across England as a whole. Across England, the pandemic saw the percentage of people seen by an NHS dentist fall dramatically. While there has been a recovery in recent years, across England the percentage of adults seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months before April 2024 remained noticeably below the equivalent figure from September 2019.^[13]

Norfolk’s population is set to increase during the next decade, with more significant increases among older age groups. Norfolk already has a higher proportion of over 65s than many other local authorities in England and older people are more likely to have complex dental care needs due to treatment patterns earlier in their lives.^[14][15]

In Norfolk there are also significant geographical variations in the rate of being seen by a dentist with 24% of adults in Breckland being seen in the 24 months before April 2024 compared to 54% of adults in Norwich.[1] Additionally, there is a well-established link between deprivation and poor oral health.^[16]

Long-term health conditions include Diabetes, Atrial Fibrillation (irregular heart beat), Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Strokes and TIAs (‘mini-strokes’). The prevalence of some long-term conditions and the demand placed on services can be influenced by lifestyle choices and healthy behaviours. Encouraging people to follow a beneficial lifestyle should free up resources to enable services to find and manage those who have not yet been diagnosed.

In 2023/24 there was estimated to be 67,000 people in Norfolk living with diabetes, representing 8.4% of the adult population. This proportion is higher than for the East of England and England as a whole (7.6% and 7.7% respectively in 2023/24).^[17]

The directly standardised mortality rate for under 75s from cancers considered preventable decreased in Norfolk between 2014-16 and 2021-23, and was consistently lower than for England as a whole over this time period.^[18] The directly standardised under 75 mortality rate from preventable cardiovascular diseases in Norfolk has also been consistently lower than the English average.^[19]

In 2023/24 67% of Norfolk’s adult population were estimated to be overweight or obese, a proportion higher than the English average of 64%. The proportion considered overweight or obese in Norfolk has also been on a general upward trend since 2017/18.^[20]

Being overweight or obese can contribute to health issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes and diabetes. In 2023/24 just over 62% of adults in Norfolk did 150 minutes or more of sport and physical activity per week, a figure similar to the 64% achieving this level of activity across England as a whole.^[21]

Norfolk has a high proportion of residents aged 16 or over who met the recommended “5-a-day” target for eating fruit and vegetables on the day before they completed the survey, 34%, above the proportion for England as a whole of 31%.^[22]

In 2024 the rate for all new Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) diagnoses for people aged 25 or over (excluding Chlamydia) was better in Norfolk than the English average (287 per 100,000 people aged 25 or over in Norfolk compared to 482 per 100,000 in England).^[23]

Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection in England, with rates substantially higher in young adults than any other age group. The rate of chlamydia detection in Norfolk in 2024 among females aged 15 to 24 was estimated to be 1,338 per 100,000, which is worse than the national rate of 1,589 per 100,000 (in females aged 15-24). A higher detection rate indicates increased infection control activity rather than prevalence of chlamydia.^[24]

Similarly, numbers of new HIV diagnoses are not the same as incidence; however, they provide a timely insight into the onward HIV transmission in a country and consequently allow targeting efforts to reduce transmission. In 2024 the rate of new HIV diagnoses was 7.2 per 100,000 of population in Norfolk, lower than the figure of 10.4 per 100,000 in England as a whole.^[25]

Education, Skills and Training is one of the domains of the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).^[26] Overall, Norfolk was 81st in the IMD 2019 (where 1 is most deprived area and 151 is the least), but Norfolk ranks 31st in the education, skills and training domain.^[27] The rankings of the individual Norfolk districts vary: in the education, skills and training domain Great Yarmouth is the second most deprived district in England, while South Norfolk is the least deprived area of Norfolk in this domain. Even so, South Norfolk rank places it only just in the top 40% of districts across England in the Education, Skills and Training domain.^[28]

Ofsted gave Norfolk County Council Adult Learning an inspection judgement of “Good” in November 2023.^[29]

The picture on hospital admissions linked to alcohol is mixed, depending on the definition used. When only considering conditions wholly attributable to alcohol or, alternatively, when considering conditions wholly or partially attributable to alcohol as the main or secondary reason for an admission (the ‘broad’ definition), Norfolk’s directly standardised rates of admissions in 2023/24 were lower than for England as a whole. However, when restricting the data to where the main reason for an admission is a condition wholly or partially attributable to alcohol (the ‘narrow’ definition), Norfolk had a higher rate of hospital admissions than the English average in 2023/24. According to the ‘narrow’ definition of alcohol-related conditions, in Norfolk in 2023/24 there were 5,137 hospital admissions, giving a directly standardised rate of 526 per 100,000 people compared to the English average of 504 per 100,000 people.^[30]

An estimated 12% of adults in Norfolk reported currently smoking in 2023/24, similar to both the East of England and overall English averages.^[31]

Between 2021 and 2023 there were 115 deaths due to drug misuse in Norfolk; this gives a directly standardised rate of 4.5 deaths per 100,000 people which is lower than the English average of 5.5 deaths per 100,000 people.^[32] In 2023/24, Cannabis was the most widely used drug in England and Wales (used by around 7% of those aged 16-59 in the year before the survey) followed by cocaine (used by around 2% of those aged 16-59). The proportion of 16-24 year olds reporting the use of any illicit drug in the year before the survey fell from almost 30% in 1995 to 17% in 2023/24.^[33]

Norfolk Adults Learning Disability Plan 2023-2028 seeks to make life better for people with a learning disability and their carers in Norfolk. It outlines five key priorities to do this: choices about where to live, being healthy, help to be as independent as possible, getting out and about, and support for carers.^[34]

People with learning disabilities have poorer mental health, education and employment.^[35] They also have a lower life expectancy and a higher risk of early death compared to the general population;^[36] for example, men with learning disabilities die on average 20 years younger than men in the general population and women die 23 years younger.^[37]

The prevalence of learning disabilities in Norfolk is higher than in England as a whole and is also higher than the East of England average.^[38]

In the 2021 census the proportion of people in Norfolk whose day-to-day activities were limited by their health or disability was 1-in-5.^[39]

In Norfolk, in the first quarter of 2025 30% of the population aged 16-64 were disabled according to UK law^[40] or a had a work-limiting disability,^[41] this is estimated to represent 158,000 people in Norfolk.^[42] In comparison, 26% of the population aged 16-64 in England^[41] were disabled according to UK law or have a work limiting disability.

Norfolk has three prisons: HMP Bure, HMP Norwich and HMP Wayland. As of 28 July 2025, these had prisoner populations of 643, 709 and 843 respectively.^[43] Offenders are more likely to smoke, misuse drugs and/or alcohol, suffer mental health problems, report having a disability, self-harm, attempt suicide and die prematurely compared to the general population.

In 2022-23, Norfolk adult prisoners had a reoffending rate of 27%. This rate is similar to the average for England & Wales as a whole.^[44]

Domestic abuse is an incident or pattern of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between people aged 16 years or over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass, but is not limited to, psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional abuse and also includes honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.^[45]

In Norfolk there were approximately 23 police recorded domestic abuse related incidents and crimes per 1000 people in the year 2023/24. This is similar to the East of England average and lower than in England & Wales as a whole over the same time period. Although domestic abuse is generally under reported, in Norfolk it accounted for 18% of all crime in 2023/24, slightly higher than the 16% for the whole of England & Wales.^[46]

Domestic abuse can be the cause of depression and other mental health issues in victims, contributing to self-harm and attempted suicide. The total cost of domestic abuse was estimated to be £66 billion in 2017/18, which includes the cost to the victims and the costs to public services. But even this number is thought to an under-estimate.^[47]

Hospital admissions for victims of violent crime (including sexual violence) are significantly lower for Norfolk than for England as a whole,^[48] as is the rate of violent offences per 1,000 people.^[49] However, the rate of violent offences per 1,000 people is higher in Norfolk than the East of England as a whole, while the rate of sexual offences per 1,000 people is higher than that for England as a whole and the East of England.^[50]

Homelessness includes those households who are defined as statutorily homeless within the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002 (families with dependent children, pregnant women and adults who are assessed as vulnerable), however, there are also the non-statutory homeless who include single individuals or couples without dependents who are sleeping rough, living in supported accommodation or those deemed as the “hidden homeless” that often sleep on friends’ or family’s sofas.^[51][52]

In 2017 the Homelessness Reduction Act placed a duty on local authorities to intervene at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness by helping those threatened with homelessness or eviction. It also requires housing authorities to provide homelessness services to all those affected, not just those in priority need.^[51]

The rate of those owed assistance under the Homelessness Reduction Act per 1,000 households in Norfolk has been below that for both the East of England and England as a whole between 2019/20 and 2023/24.^[53] In Norfolk, Great Yarmouth is the district with the highest rate of households owed assistance and South Norfolk is the district with the lowest.^[54]

Not all types of homelessness are measured by official statistics. Informal homelessness, such as sofa surfing, is not recorded but has been found to be quite prevalent amongst young people. A 2016 survey of UK 16–25 year olds found that 35% had “stayed with friends or family on their floor or sofa because they had nowhere else to go”.^[55]

Providing unpaid care affects people from all walks of life, at all ages, living in the smallest village or larger towns and cities. Carers UK has estimated that the unpaid care provided in Norfolk in 2021 would have cost £2.7 billion per year if it had to be paid for by public services.^[56]

According to the 2021 census there were around 81,500 individuals aged 5 or over providing unpaid care in Norfolk, or 9.3% of the population of this age. For England as a whole in 2021 the equivalent figure was 8.7%.^[57] According to the 2021 census around 58% of carers in Norfolk are female, and almost two-thirds are aged over 50. Indeed, 29% of unpaid carers in Norfolk were aged 65 and over in 2021.^[58]

As of February 2025, there were around 20,500 individuals eligible for carers allowance in Norfolk. In February 2023 2.0% of the Norfolk’s total population were eligible for carers allowance identical to the percentage for England as a whole.^[59]

There are increasing demands on carers of older people with long-term conditions. The health and wellbeing of carers is also affected by their levels of caring, with CarersUK reporting that carers who were caring for more than 50 hours a week were more likely to rate their mental and/or physical as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ compared to those spending fewer than caring for a shorter amount of time each week. In 2022 Carers UK found that 77% of carers have felt lonely at least some of the time.^[60]

In 2023/24, around 6,400 safeguarding concerns were made to the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board, leading to around 3,100 Section 42 safeguarding enquiries. The most common type of abuse was ‘Neglect and acts of omission’, and the second was common was ‘Physical’. Almost 25% of the Section 42 safeguarding enquiries concerned individuals aged 85 or older. So while in Norfolk in 2023/24 the overall rate of Section 42 safeguarding enquiries was 39 per 10,000 adults, it was highest in the 85+ age where the rate was 218 enquiries per 10,000 adults aged 85+.^[61][62]

Norfolk was a Beacon pilot site for National Domestic Abuse charity SafeLives between 2016 and 2021. The Beacon project involved 3 elements: One front door, the Connect Model (piloted in Norwich) and Drive Perpetrator programme.^[63]