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From youth groups to food banks, from drug and alcohol addiction support to mental health counselling, churches directly provide or host a growing list of vital health related services for people in urgent need. Especially noticeable at Christmas time.
In the process, churches relieve huge cost pressures on the National Health Service, worth an amazing £8.4 billion annually. That’s the equivalent to the cost of employing 230,000 nurses.
The £8.4 billion is how much it would cost the NHS to ‘produce’ the same level of health improvements provided by churches, equivalent to around 4% of total UK public health spending.
But this health dividend is at risk as an increasing number of churches are at risk of closure.
The report is set to launch in the House of Commons at an event sponsored by Ruth Jones MP on Tuesday 15 October 2024.
Welcoming the report, The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Bishop of London, said: “Churches and other faith groups play an extremely important role in the health and wellbeing of their communities, and in our collective health. “
“There is a church in every community, including the most deprived, and many have been serving their communities for generations. It is encouraging to see the value of their provision being recognised in this report, with inspiring case studies.”
“The report helps to highlight the importance of faith group partnership, which will be vital in reducing health inequalities. Church buildings are important and rich assets in the delivery of this work, which we must look after, and for which we give thanks.“
Will Watt, Allan Little and Jasmine Kazantzis from value and social impact consultancy, State of Life, co-authors of the report produced for the National Churches Trust, explain the economics behind their findings.
“ Our approach involved using Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), a value for money metric used by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to determine the healthcare value of four support services provided in church buildings: youth groups, food banks, drug and alcohol addiction support and mental health counselling.”
“We also incorporated the positive health benefits experienced by volunteers, who not only contribute their time to support these services, but also improve their own wellbeing in the process.”
“Whilst the £8.4 billion in cost relief is not directly visible to NHS commissioners, the range of healthcare support and services provided in church buildings will in practice reduce what is already and excess demand for health services.”
“It's vital to stress, that this is a conservative valuation. In reality, churches provide a much wider range of support, from warm spaces and lunch clubs to activities that alleviate loneliness, and a host of musical and cultural activities. All of these can be expected to contribute to health and wellbeing , and thus further relieve costs.”
“Our research shows that church buildings provide significant cost relief, underscoring their vital role in care and wellbeing.”
Said Claire Walker, CEO of the National Churches Trust: “The UK’s 38,500 churches promote the positive mental and physical health that helps people thrive. They provide locations for health treatments.
"They prevent conditions that would otherwise send more patients through GP or hospital doors. They’re our National Help Service. Our new research, ‘The House of Good: Health’ shows for the first time that the value of the health-related support services provided in church buildings is at least £8.4 billion a year.”
“These findings and figures are truly remarkable. But they’re also alarming. Because the UK’s church buildings are dangerously underfunded, with many in the most deprived areas falling into disrepair and facing closure. Around 3,500 have closed in recent years.”
“Without urgent support, we risk losing this shock absorber for the NHS, and a vital safety net for the most vulnerable people in our society.”
“Churches were providing health services long before the introduction of the NHS and continue to do so today. As healthcare costs rise, their role in preventative care becomes increasingly important. This is also true for buildings used by other faiths.”
“By investing in church buildings and integrating churches into local health service provision through initiatives including social prescribing, we can alleviate pressures on healthcare budgets while delivering immense value to individuals and communities across the UK.”
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