Prevention schemes are failing to achieve their potential, say experts

Efforts to prevent ill health have stalled and are failing to help reduce demand on the NHS and save money, according to the Office of Health Economics (OHE).The independent health economics research organisation is calling for a renewed focus on investing in prevention initiatives as a way of creating a healthier and more wealthy nation. In a report1 published on 12 October it examined how existing prevention efforts are failing and proposes several areas for action.OHE analysed 13 existing prevention measures including stop smoking services, NHS health checks, weight management services, and diabetes support. It concluded that too many are failing because of a lack of uptake, underfunding, or approaches that are too short term. Consequently, there was a “disconnect” between the potential benefits that could be achieved and the scale of ambition in funding, implementation, and monitoring.One example is what it describes as the “highly cost effective” NHS diabetes…
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