Long-term absenteeism poses a ‘serious’ threat to UK public finances, the report warns
- Long-term illness has become a ‘serious budget threat’, a new IPPR report warns
- There are now a record 2.6 million Britons out of work due to ill health
High levels of long-term absenteeism from work pose a ‘serious’ threat to the UK’s public finances, a report has warned.
Bosses at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) also highlight that the quality of healthcare has fallen – despite more and more money being poured into services.
The 90-page report comes after IPPR’s Health and Welfare Commission conducted an audit of health and care services, which found that poor health costs both lives and livelihoods.
Long-term absenteeism has become a ‘serious budget threat’, the report said, with the number of people out of work due to ill health at a record high of 2.6 million.
It adds: ‘There is no path to prosperity for this country without tackling the wave of disease head-on.
Long-term absenteeism has become a ‘serious budget threat’, with the number of people out of work due to ill health at a record high of 2.6 million
‘The number of deaths that could have been prevented by timely healthcare or public health interventions is much higher in Britain than in all other comparable European countries.
‘If Britain had had a (similar) avoidable death rate, around 240,000 fewer people would have died in the ten years from 2010.’
Long wait times for healthcare and a failure to tackle obesity, couch potato lifestyles and smoking have fueled the deaths, the think tank says.
The IPPR found that the quality of care nationally has worsened despite increased spending, forcing the country to ‘spend more to get less’.
She calls on the government to take urgent action to deliver better value for money to taxpayers.
Reforming the NHS to change it from a ‘disease service’ to a ‘prevention service’ would ‘avoid killing costs’ and end ‘second-class care’, says IPPR report
Reforming the NHS to change it from a ‘disease service’ to a ‘prevention service’ would ‘avoid killer costs’ and end ‘second-class care’, it adds.
Lord James Bethell, former Tory health secretary, said: ‘Ailing Britain is costing us our lives and livelihoods and damaging the British economy.
“If we want to change course, we have to stop pretending that the solution is always more hospitals and more acute staff. Instead, we must take action to reduce the demand and need for health care through prevention.”
Matthew Taylor of the NHS Confederation, which represents healthcare organisations, said: ‘Investments that keep people out of hospital and prevent ill health will save money in the long term, support the economy and help secure a sustainable, prosperous future for the world set. NHS.’