A new NHS report has indicated that successful pivots in prevention spend could benefit the UK by up to £22bn per year.
The report comes from the NHS Confederation in collaboration with Carnall Farrar and analyses how better targeting existing prevention spending could result in major returns.
The research has a more conservative estimate of an extra £11bn of impact – this is based on the £5bn of current spending on the public health grant.
The figures derive from benefits to:
- Economy
- Healthcare savings
- Social care savings
- Productivity
Researchers found that – based on pure return of investment – the top 20 interventions were all community based and in areas such as housing improvements, smoking prevention, and exercise schemes.
Major ROI
The main interventions had returns ranging from seven-fold to nearly 35-fold – based on £1 spent.
The top five included adapting 100,000 homes where a serious fall would likely occur (£34.80); training healthcare professionals to provide physical activity advice (£23.70); and providing residents with free leisure services (£20.70).
“The current financial situation the NHS is facing means our members are having to prioritise short-term funding and performance over the long-term changes they know are necessary to put the NHS on a sustainable footing,” said the NHS Confederation’s CEO, Matthew Taylor.
He added: “So it is poignant that this new report sets out yet more evidence that investing in prevention is not just good for patients and improving public health, but also the economy.
“It is clear that an initial investment in preventative schemes can pay back dividends for people’s health and the economy.”
Moving forward
The NHS Confederation is now calling for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to invest more in prevention, especially where impact is evident – i.e., with children and young people.
ROI should be considered during commissioning too, according to the researchers, as part of a more evidence-based approach, while data should be properly harnessed to evaluate and benchmark interventions.
Taylor continued: “This is not just about improving NHS performance but will require a whole-government approach because only 20% of our health is determined by healthcare, with the remaining 80% affected by wider determinants.
“What we want to see is cross-government co-operation, collaboration and investment on health policy, recognising that that most policy that impacts people’s health is made outside the NHS.”
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