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Fattest nation: A bad diet has been blamed for English women having shorter life spans (file picture)

Healthcare in England is so poor that women live longer in the former Communist state of Slovenia.

A shocking report yesterday showed that female life expectancy here is also lower than in almost all Western European countries.

A woman born in England can expect to live to 81 years and 11 months, but her Slovenian counterpart will have an extra two months of life – even though the former Yugoslav republic spends far less on healthcare. 

Over the past year we have slipped from 14th to 16th among EU countries, overtaken by both Slovenia and Malta. At the top is France, where women can expect to reach 85.

Experts said the difference can be put down to NHS failures to spot cancer and heart disease early enough – as well as the fact that the British diet is worse than in other countries.

The annual Health Profile of England from the Department of Health also revealed that deaths from chronic liver disease among women have climbed above the EU average, driven by the rise in binge drinking.

Teenage pregnancy rates are the highest in western Europe – and obesity levels are the worst in the whole continent.

Worldwide, only the U.S., Mexico and New Zealand are fatter than us.

Infant mortality in England is also higher than the EU average, with 4.8 babies dying out of 1,000.

This is much higher than both Slovenia and the Czech Republic, countries which only 20 years ago were behind the Iron Curtain.

But there was better news for English men – their life expectancy of 77 years and eight months is among the best in Europe, behind only Sweden, Italy, Cyprus and France.