A cross-party commission from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has revealed a major report, aimed at kick-starting a complete rethink of national health policy.
The three-year enquiry analysed the interaction between health and the economy, and was chaired by top surgeon Lord Ara Darzi and Professor Dame Sally Davies, former chief medical officer for England.
The commission found that almost 1,600 fewer infants would have died between 2020 and 2022 if improvements in infant mortality had continued at the same rate as between 2001 and 2015.
The report also identified other contributing factors to health sector and economy issues, including a growing mental health crisis, intensifying regional health inequalities, healthy life expectancy stagnating and long-term health conditions rising.
The report stated that, if current trends continue, economic activity due to sickness could hit 4.3 million by the end of this parliament, up from 2.8 million currently.
As of the end of last year, 900,000 extra workers were missing from work due to illness, resulting in an estimated £5 billion in lost tax receipts in 2024.
The report found that better population health could save the NHS £18 billion per year by the mid-2030s.
The IPPR commission outlines the merits of moving from a “reactive, sickness oriented 20th century healthcare system” to a “proactive, 21st century health creation system”.
The ultimate goals for a new health creation system would be to add 10 years to healthy life expectancy by 2055, and to halve regional health inequalities.
The commission sets out “oven-ready” policies for its outlined programme, including installing a new neighbourhood health centre in every part of the country and establishing ‘Health and Prosperity Improvement (HAPI) zones’ in more health-deprived areas.
The ‘HAPI’ zones would include the creation of swimming pools and green spaces, and would be modelled off of Clean Air Zones.
The report also advises a comprehensive plan to tax health polluters, including tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food companies, which could raise over £10 billion annually.
On the publication of the report, Lord Darzi said: “Our Commission was among the first to identify the rising sickness as a major and immediate post-pandemic fiscal challenge. Now, as the government sets up its health mission, our final report provides a ready-made policy vision for a new approach to public health.”
Chris Thomas, head of IPPR’s commission on health and prosperity, said: “We are not the first generation to face a reckoning with our health. Indeed, one of Britain’s proudest legacies is its history of bold action on health crises.
“The Victorians answered infectious disease outbreaks with sanitation, slum clearance and worker rights. Post-war, we answered rising acute need by extending universal healthcare coverage.
“In 2024, we face a health crisis just as pronounced – with unthinkable human and economic cost. We have set out to find an answer just as bold as those that came before it. Founding a health creation system is a way to fundamentally reimagine health policy – fit for the 21st century.”
