Businesses must support staff amid rising prevalence serious health conditions
As the new government struggles to reduce NHS waiting lines, research has found that the prevalence of cancer and other serious health conditions is rising. As well as showing the mounting challenge the UK’s healthcare system faces, researchers from Broadstone argue this also underscores the case for businesses to invest in preventative health benefits for employees.
“It’s deeply concerning to see the increasing prevalence of chronic, life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes,” Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, commented. “While various factors contribute to these rising numbers, they coincide with lengthening NHS waiting lists and reduced access to timely primary care, issues that have worsened since the pandemic.”
In the years since the advent of the NHS, life expectancies have steadily increased in the UK – with the service’s preventative treatment helping a growing number of people to live healthy lives for longer. However, with the NHS having been subjected to more than a decade of austerity, and struggling to recruit and maintain talent, these crucial early detection and treatment offerings have come under increasing strain – especially amid the unprecedented workload resulting from the Covid-19 emergency. This has seen a growing number of cases go undiagnosed and untreated, leaving people at greater risk, according to Broadstone.
To determine this, the independent consultancy looked at the Department of Health & Social Care’s latest Health Trends data for England. Broadstone found that cancerous issues have become significantly more common, with the proportion of patients with cancer – excluding non-melanotic skin cancers – more than doubling in just over a decade.
When records began in 2009/10, 1.4% of people in England – or 776,000 – were diagnosed with such cancers. But according to practice disease registers, this rose to 3% by 2018/19, and has subsequently spiked to 3.6% or 2.3 million in the latest financial year.
The impact this has had on waiting times has been extremely grave. There should be no more than 62 days between a cancer referral being received by a hospital to when a patient starts treatment. But while the earlier treatment begins, the better the patient’s chances, ONS statistics show patients in England waiting longer than the 62-day standard has more than tripled over the past 12 years – from 11% to 33.4%.
At the same time, cardiovascular risks and diabetes prevalence have also hit record highs of 7.7% in 2023/24 – up from 5.4% in 2009/10 when records began. The number of those with heart failure alone has risen from 0.72% to 1.06% since 2009/10.
This not only places strain on the NHS, but also poses a significant threat to businesses – who stand to lose significant hours of productivity, and access to talent by the rising number of untreated health crises.
According to Hill, firms need to consider how they support staff with medical issues, if they are going to negate these threats.
He concluded, “In response, employers are increasingly focusing on preventative health strategies, such as comprehensive Private Medical Insurance, private GP services, and regular health screenings. These proactive measures not only protect employee health but also help reduce the long-term costs of healthcare by preventing more serious conditions from developing.”