Veganism could be the key to unlocking a host of benefits for the NHS after new research revealed it could lead to nearly £7bn in savings for the health system.
The potential savings partly derive from reducing the incidence of major diseases in the UK, including type 2 diabetes and cancer.
The research, conducted by the Office of Health Economics (OHE), suggests that if everyone in England converted to a plant-based diet:
- The NHS would save £6.7bn a year;
- There would be over two million fewer cases of disease across the population;
- People would benefit from an extra 172,735 quality-adjusted life years;
- A net benefit of around £18.8bn would be achieved, when all these things are combined.
The Vegan Society, which funded the analysis, says this money could be used to cover the annual budgets of at least seven of England’s hospitals. It could also fund the yearly salaries of 65,000 consultants or 185,000 nurses.
"There is now compelling evidence that plant-based diets can benefit people's health.”
One of the report’s authors, Dr Chris Sampson, a senior principal economist at the OHE, explained: “Our analysis takes a significant step towards understanding how dietary choices impact population health and NHS expenditure overall.
“For every million people making the switch to a vegan diet the anticipated reduction in illness could save the NHS a staggering £121m.”
The OHE, which is a registered charity and independent research organisation, is now calling for future research to investigate the “casual effects” of the vegan diet on health outcomes and healthcare resources across different populations.
Claire Ogley, the head of campaigns, policy and research at the Vegan Society, said: “It’s encouraging to see increasing evidence that plant-based diets can be not only beneficial to individual health but could also benefit the NHS on a bigger scale.”
The news comes as the NHS continues to harness the power of prevention and stop people from needing treatment in the first place.
One of the focuses of the NHS prevention programme is diabetes which was the condition that brought out the largest savings, according to the research.
In a best case scenario, a vegan diet could help reduce type 2 diabetes cases by 1.2 million, helping the NHS save over £4.5bn.
For cancer – another prevention focus – more than half a million cases could be averted, while over £1bn in savings could be achieved.
Claire Ogley added: “As the report illustrates, wider uptake of plant-based diets could free up billions of pounds of funding to invest back into England’s hospitals and services.
“Policymakers should consider supporting and encouraging plant-based diets as part of public health campaigns to realise these benefits to the health service in the UK.”
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