NHS 10 Year Plan ambitions on prevention and inequalities is just first step needed to reshape the health environment
Health analytics Medical and public affairs Health equity Policy & regulation
Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, Head of Health Analytics at LCP, comments on the NHS 10-Year Health Plan for England:
“We welcome the NHS 10-Year Plan’s renewed commitment to prevention, and particularly its recognition of the importance of both primary ,secondary prevention strategies and addressing health inequalities. Tackling a complex disease like obesity demonstrates the value of this comprehensive approach - spanning the prevention of disease onset, slowing progression (such as increasing BMI), and averting costly complications like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and osteoarthritis.
"To achieve the ambitions on prevention and inequalities outlined in the NHS 10-Year Plan, this must just be the first step. Going further and faster on reshaping the environment to make the healthy choice the easy choice and combining predictive analytics with prevention (both primary and secondary) efforts that are tailored to neighbourhoods to get both a health and economic dividend will be needed to bend the demand curve that threatens the NHS as we know it.
"Being able to demonstrate impact – health and economic – will be vital and we are therefore pleased to see plans for tracking prevention investment and introducing performance incentives; the ONS Health Index was an innovative metric to enable tracking the nation’s ‘stock of health’ to incentivise upstream investment; we hope this is recommissioned. However, there is still a lack of clarity on how these initiatives will be funded. Our recent commentary in the HSJ, together with Lord James Bethell, explored how innovative funding and care delivery models can support more sustainable prevention efforts.
"We are encouraged by the continued rollout of GLP-1 medicines, which offer significant clinical and societal benefit. Recent LCP estimates suggest that providing these medicines to all eligible individuals could generate up to £4.3 billion in productivity gains and reduce the £10 billion in annual welfare costs associated with obesity. The Plan’s suggestion of exploring impact-based partnerships with industry to provide access to new treatments and outcome-linked payments on outcomes that really matter, such as fewer heart attacks, strokes or cancer diagnoses, is a welcome signal of ambition.
"Delivering effective prevention solutions will require integrated, multi-sector approaches, involving all partners across the health and care system. Collaboration between policymakers, providers, industry and local communities will be essential to translate ambition into long-term impact.”
Read our latest commentary here.
