The NHS 10-Year Health Plan represents a pivotal opportunity to redefine the future of healthcare in the UK, addressing longstanding challenges while embracing innovative solutions to improve health outcomes. Lime Health fully supports the vision for a more sustainable, proactive, and inclusive healthcare system that prioritises prevention, leverages technology, and reduces the burden on overstretched resources.
As an organisation committed to empowering individuals via their workplaces through accessible, meaningful healthcare, Lime Health believes the plan’s success lies in its ability to foster a healthier, economically productive population. Below, we outline the key priorities and insights that align with our expertise, focusing on fostering economic resilience, shifting from sickness to prevention, and enabling better use of resources through a mixture of private and state health services.
Question 1: What does your organisation want to see included in the 10-Year Health Plan and why?
Lime Health envisions a 10-Year Health Plan that prioritises prevention, early detection, and workplace health as integral components of a sustainable, economically healthy society. By ensuring that those who can work are able to do so, the NHS, under the leadership of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), directly contributes to national productivity and economic resilience. This aligns with the DHSC’s evolving role as a driver of economic growth, recognising that a healthy workforce is essential to a thriving economy.
Fostering an Economically Healthy Population
The UK workforce is a vital part of the nation’s economy, yet sickness absence costs the economy over £77 billion annually (1). Effective healthcare systems must recognise the importance of enabling people to remain in or return to work promptly.
Prevention Is Key: Proactive health management empowers individuals to manage their well-being, reducing the progression of chronic illnesses that are costly for both employers and the NHS (2). For example, Lime Health’s own data shows that affordable, regular health checks significantly reduce time-to-intervention for employees with early symptoms.
Economic Multiplier of Workplace Health: Every employee who receives timely, employer-supported healthcare effectively alleviates pressure on the NHS, allowing resources to focus on vulnerable groups like children, those with disabilities and the elderly. This creates a 1:1 shift, benefiting both society and the economy.
Shifting Focus from Treatment to Prevention and Early Detection
The NHS must move from being reactive to being proactive. Prevention and early detection reduces the burden on primary care resources such as GPs, pharmacists and hospital services, ensuring resources are available for acute care. Technology plays a pivotal role here:
Digital Tools for Early Detection: Self-monitoring devices such as smartwatches and wearables allow individuals to track critical metrics like heart rate and blood pressure. With 35% of adults in the UK owning wearable devices (3), the scalability of such tools should not be underestimated.
Smartphone-Based Health Scans - A Transformative Leap: While wearable devices are significant, smartphones represent an even greater opportunity to democratise access to health monitoring. With a 94% penetration rate among UK adults (4), there are over 50 million smartphone users (5) in the UK. The vast majority of working-age people own a smartphone, making it a powerful tool for expanding access to health technology. Smartphones equipped with advanced camera technology can perform digital health scans, enabling individuals to monitor critical metrics like heart rate, oxygen saturation, and other vital signs without the need to visit a medical centre or requiring additional devices. This technology opens a transformative gateway for improving heart, mind, and body health, empowering millions to manage their wellness proactively and reduce the strain on NHS services.
Cost Savings Through Prevention: Studies by The King’s Fund suggest that delaying disease progression can yield billions in NHS savings. For example, preventing diabetes complications saves up to £1.5 billion annually (6).
Workplace Health as Part of Primary Care
The workplace can become an extension of the primary care network. Employers who offer affordable healthcare can help bridge gaps in NHS capacity. This combination of private and public services will ensure healthcare becomes more accessible and personalised.
56% of GP Appointments Are Avoidable: Lime Health’s experience shows that only 44% of patients need GP services, with the remainder requiring specialists or allied health professionals. AI-driven triage systems can connect employees to the right clinicians, reducing unnecessary GP appointments and streamlining care.
A 10-Year Health Plan that incorporates prevention, early detection, and workplace-supported healthcare will foster an economically resilient and healthier population, ensuring the NHS continues to meet the needs of a growing and ageing society.
Question 4: What does your organisation see as the biggest challenges and enablers to spotting illnesses earlier and tackling the causes of ill health?
Challenges
Primary Care Overload:
GP Access Crisis: With GP waiting times worsening—an 18% increase in demand for appointments over the past five years (7)—the system struggles to provide timely care. This backlog delays diagnosis and early treatment.
Cultural Norms: Patients are conditioned to rely on GPs for all their healthcare needs. This results in inefficiencies, as many health concerns could be addressed by other healthcare professionals or digital solutions.
Barriers to NHS Workforce Growth:
Training and Recruitment Challenges: Training GPs and healthcare professionals is a lengthy and costly process. According to the Health Foundation, England faced a shortfall of 4,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs in 2021/2022, with this gap projected to widen significantly by 2030 (7). A review of the funding and training pathways to attract students into the medical profession is much needed.
Financial Burden: University debt discourages many from pursuing medical careers. The average medical student in the UK graduates with a debt ranging between £50,000 and £90,000, which can deter individuals, especially from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, from entering the profession (8). Reforming the financial burden on medical students is critical for securing a sustainable NHS
workforce
References
Sickness Absence Costs:
https://www.zurich.co.uk/media-centre/work-absences-due-to-long-term-sickness
NHS Health Check Programme:
Wearable Device Ownership:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1459686/wearable-ownership-by-type-uk/
Smartphone Penetration Rate: https://www.statista.com/statistics/271851/smartphone-owners-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-by-age/
Number of Smartphone Users: https://www.statista.com/statistics/553707/predicted-number-of-smartphone-users-in-the-united-kingdom/
Cost Savings Through Prevention: https://www.axa.co.uk/newsroom/media-releases/2023/the-true-cost-of-running-on-empty-work-related-stress-costing-uk-economy-28bn-a-year/
GP Access Crisis and Workforce Shortages: https://www.cipd.org/uk/views-and-insights/thought-leadership/cipd-voice/sickness-absence-rate-jumps/
Medical School Debt: https://medicalschoolexpert.co.uk/medical-school-debt/
