The report ‘Health in 2040: projected patterns of Illness in England’ by the Health Foundation and the University of Liverpool predicts that by 2040, 9.1 million people in England will be living with major illness, a rise from almost 1 in 6, to nearly 1 in 5 of the adult population, resulting predominantly from an ageing population that increases the demand for health services. The report highlights the challenges and questions for the NHS, social care and other public services, calling for a long-term plan to reform, modernise and invest in the NHS.
The report calls for an urgent and bold new approach that invests in the nation’s health and well-being, placing it on a par with increasing economic growth and tackling climate change as one of the defining challenges of our time.