This report highlights the significance of prevention as a cost-effective and often cost-saving investment for public sector resources in the United Kingdom. Prevention, covering primary, secondary, and tertiary measures, can help to reduce ill health, improve healthcare capacity, and increase wider economic growth.
Key Takeaways from the report:
- Despite being recognised as a priority, only 5% of total NHS funding was allocated to preventative care between 2013 and 2019.
- The public health grant to local authorities has declined since 2015/16, being cut by over a quarter (26%) in real terms per person by 2023/24.
- Primary prevention through public health interventions is substantially cost-saving, with a median return on investment (ROI) of more than 14:1.
- Investing in prevention can be 3-4 times more cost-effective than investing in treatment.
- Welfare payments to individuals with (partially) preventable conditions, like obesity, are substantial (£3.6 billion annually).
- Recommendations for improvement include long-term cross-party agreement, innovative financing both within and outside NHS budgets (e.g., social impact bonds, dedicated prevention fund), and exploring new opportunities (precision medicine, digital health).