Background
The broad links between the economy and the NHS are longstanding and well understood. In October 2022, the NHS Confederation partnered with Carnall Farrar to quantify the positive relationship between increasing NHS spending, health outcomes and economic activity – the first nationally modelled attempt at such a distinction. The results, published in From Safety Net to Springboard, were stark, with the analysis revealing that every pound invested in the NHS results in around £4 back to the economy through increased gross value added, (GVA), including through gains in productivity and workforce participation.