The current debate about the future of the NHS starts with a correct observation, which is that continuing in its current form is untenable. As the population ages and we get more complex treatment regimes, then, unless we change our approach to healthcare, the numbers don’t add up. But all the Government’s proposed reforms are doing is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I’d like to suggest something more radical, which is to think about how to make it self-funding, without increasing the strain on the public purse. Not by privatising it, but by extracting value from it and then exporting that value. In other words, let’s see if we can make the NHS a global brand and turn it into something that can generate revenue.
Before you dismiss it, stop and think. We’ve already done it with the BBC, which Superbrands rates as the fifth strongest brand in the UK. The BBC is respected and earns money around the world. Why don’t we think of the NHS in the same way? It doesn’t feature in any list of brands because nobody thinks of it like that. But there are some very good reasons why it should, particularly if we want it to be affordable in the future. The current Government (and every one before it) is missing a trick.
The NHS probably contains more data about treatment and outcomes than any other medical institution in the world. And so it should. For much of its life it’s been one of the world’s largest employers, accumulating detailed information on generations of the UK’s 60 million citizens. That’s an awful lot of “big data”. So here’s the question – “If we could extract and monetise that value, could we make the NHS pay for itself?” We need to extract that value and use it, then export the resulting expertise to make money from the rest of the world.