The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Artwork: Lavinia Salon, S10

Elena Rees , (she/her), LVI, explores the impact of Britains declining health and well-being on our economy

What is causing this decline in public health?

A healthier solution

‘For the first time in 200 years, our health is now slowing the rise of economic growth and the well being of our citizens’. This was part of a statement made by Andy Haldane at the Health Foundation thinktank’s annual Real Challenge Lecture. In the talk, Haldane, an economist and ex-employee of the Bank of England, suggested that the declining health and wellbeing of the British people is having a negative impact on our economy.This statement comes at a crucial time, where economic instability and a cost-of-living crisis are spreading fear and distrust throughout the country. Since 2019, the number of people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness has risen by 500,000 to 2.5 million, meaning that there are now almost 9 million people who are not working or seeking work, for health reasons. If this trend continues, it is expected that by 2023 the

To fix this problem, the obvious area that needs improvement is the NHS, as it is the front line in the battle to save the health of the public.At the end of 2021, it was reported that the total number of available NHS hospital beds had declined by more than a half over the past 30 years.This presents a huge issue because if people are not able to be treated quickly and efficiently the medical backlog will only continue to escalate, putting even more pressure on the economy as the number of people unable to work due to illness will increase. Thankfully, some things are already being done to help, with Jeremy Hunt’s new budget promising £3.3 billion of additional funding to the NHS over each of the next two years.This is a positive start however, the actual effectiveness of this is still up for debate, as this spending has come at the cost of tax rises.To get our economy back on track, it is vital that the government acts soon, otherwise it will be too late to prevent the undeniable damages caused by the recent decline in public health.

One of the key factors is the

aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.With 30,000 people being unable to work due to long COVID, it is no wonder that the work force is being put under pressure.What’s more, this figure only adds to the 200,000 workers who have dropped out of the work force for five years or more due to ill health. Overall, this just goes to show that the health of the public directly impacts the state of the UK economy. From both a social and economic point of view, this issue is extremely concerning, as this problem is difficult to solve, and the impacts are near impossible to reverse.We need to make changes and try to prevent the further decline of the health of the British people, as it is the people that support our country and provide all the services that we rely on to keep the country going.Without a strong workforce, it is reasonable to assume that there will be less investment, and thus less development, which would further stunt economic growth.

UK will be the only economically developed country with a lower employment rate than before the pandemic.

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