UK must move towards disease prevention to save economy and NHS, says expert
The creation of a “pre-NHS” focusing on preventive healthcare could unlock billionsfor the UK within two decades, according to the head of a taskforce investigating radical new improvements to the nation’s wellbeing.
Prof John Deanfield, the first-ever government champion for personalised prevention, has concluded that a parallel health service is required to save an NHS struggling to heal an increasingly unhealthy public.
Deanfield, who was asked by the previous secretary of state, Steve Barclay, to set up his taskforce, said: “The NHS still operates according to its traditional, founding principles of 75 years ago, which is disease care. But we need to move to a system of upstream, preventative health intervention.”
He added: “Our current approach to health is unsustainable, both for the health of the population and for the economy. A reorientation towards prevention is the only way to avert the growing health and wealth crisis.”
The “size of the prize” for prevention was huge, Deanfield added. “It is estimated that applying known, evidence-based preventative interventions earlier and more broadly could add 20 more healthy days per person, per year, in the UK – a 33% reduction in ill health.” That, according to an estimation made by the previous Conservative government, could create a GDP increase of about £320bn over 20 years.
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