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Obese patients cost NHS twice as much as those with healthy weight, study says
Obese patients cost the NHS twice as much as those within a healthy weight range, according to research.
Using the health records of 2.4 million adults in north-west London, researchers found spending increased for heavier patients, primarily for obesity-related conditions.
Patients of a healthy weight cost the NHS an average of £638 annually, the study found.
The results, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, laid bare the cost of obesity for the NHS as the government faces scrutiny for its failure to address the chronic policy issue.
The study found the NHS spent an average of £1,375 annually on morbidly obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 – more than half of the study’s participants.
Obese patients with a BMI of 30 to 35 cost the health service an average of £979 annually, which increased to £1,178 for those with a BMI between 35 and 40.
If everyone were a healthy weight, the study suggested, the NHS would save nearly £14bn annually.
In England, 63% of adults are living above a healthy weight, according to government figures published in May, and among them half are living with obesity.
For successive UK governments, obesity has long posed a threat to public health. With the third-highest obesity rate in Europe, after Malta and Turkey, in the last 30 years there have been four strategies and 689 policies to counter obesity, as well as the creation and later abolition of 14 different bodies to oversee progress, but little has been done to curb the trend.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has delayed measures promised by Boris Johnson in 2020 while he was in No 10 to introduce policies including restricting advertising of foods high in fat, salt or sugar on television before the 9pm watershed.
Last month, a report by the Institute for Government said that while Sunak’s government says it wants to reduce obesity, it “has no serious plan to achieve that aim”. A failure to address the problem will lead to lower productivity, higher taxes, greater health inequalities and increasing pressure on the NHS, according to the thinktank.
The Department of Health and Social Care said obesity is a serious health risk and new ways to help and incentivise people to live longer, healthier lives are being explored.
Source: The Guardian, 18 May 2023
See also: Lane Clark & Peacock - Obesity-Related Complications and Increased Healthcare costs in UK adults and adolescents
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Third of ICSs fail to set balanced budgets
A total of 14 integrated care systems are forecasting a combined deficit of £650m in 2023-24, NHS England’s chief finance officer said on Thursday.
Julian Kelly said the “vast majority” of integrated care systems – which include commissioning boards and local trusts – had submitted balanced financial plans, though he admitted these would be challenging to deliver.
The number of areas warning of financial difficulties is far higher than the equivalent stage last year, when just five systems failed to set breakeven plans.
Speaking at a meeting of the NHS England board on Thursday, Mr Kelly said overspending ICSs would face “financial control regimes” and “oversight, management and regulatory action”. Similar warnings have been made in previous years.
The deficit represents a significant improvement from the start of last month, when the combined ICS deficit stood at roughly £3bn.
HSJ reported earlier this week that NHS bodies face an average efficiency rate of six per cent in the coming year, well above levels demanded before the pandemic.
Source: HSJ, 19 May 2023
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Updated ASH Ready Reckoner has launched
The ASH Ready Reckoner is an easy-to-use cost calculator, allowing you to see the costs of smoking to society at national, regional, and local authority levels. You can download it from here.
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Major conditions strategy call for evidence
A call for evidence has been launched to invite views on how best to prevent, early diagnose, treat and manage the 6 major groups of conditions which drive ill health and contribute to the burden of disease in the population in England.
The 6 major health conditions - cancer, cardiovascular diseases including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal disorders - affect millions of people in England with data showing that one in 4 suffer from 2 or more of these major long-term conditions.
The deadline for submission is the 27 June.
You can read more and respond here.
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Local action towards a smoke-free future
This collection of case studies describe the efforts of local councils across England to improve health and wellbeing through tackling smoking. They capture the diversity of local authority approaches and some of the successes that local government can celebrate and build on. You can read them here.
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