The overlooked burden of ageing

The UK’s ageing population is reshaping healthcare demand in largely predictable and preventable ways. Nearly one in five people in the UK are now aged 65+, and given multi-morbidity and other chronic conditions increase with age, demand on services will continue to increase.1,2 Without a more coordinated approach to addressing preventable disease progression and avoidable hospital admissions, the burden on patients, families, and the NHS could continue to escalate.

Respiratory diseases illustrate the scale of the challenge. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains one of the leading causes of emergency hospital admissions in England, accounting for around 120,000 admissions each year.3 The NHS spends approximately £2 billion annually on COPD, reflecting advanced disease burden and gaps in proactive care of chronic diseases.4 Respiratory viruses can also accelerate decline in older adults, increasing hospitalisation and loss of independence.5

A prevention-led approach – smoking cessation, early diagnosis and vaccination – can help reduce avoidable deterioration and demand on emergency services. While childhood immunisation programmes are well established in the UK, adult vaccination has had lower public awareness,6 despite higher complication risks in older adults and those with underlying conditions.7

Prevention of adult infectious and chronic disease remains fragmented.8 Chronic disease management and immunisation programmes often operate in silos, with separate funding and accountability.9 Opportunities to protect those most at risk, especially those with multiple long-term conditions, can be missed when vaccination is not systematically integrated into routine care of chronic disease.
Although healthy ageing strategies exist, the unmet need is in operationalising prevention across care pathways, embedding vaccination into chronic disease management, strengthening call–recall systems, and aligning incentives so prevention becomes routine. Without this, demand, workforce pressures, and expenditure would likely escalate.

At GSK, we recognise the benefits of a stronger focus on disease prevention,10 including improving vaccine uptake and workforce education. Prevention is both a clinical priority and an economic necessity, essential to sustaining NHS capacity and supporting healthy ageing.

References

1.Office for National Statistics. Living longer: how our population is changing
and why it matters (2018). Available at:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/
birthsdeathsandmarriages/ageing/articles/
livinglongerhowourpopulationischangingandwhyitmatters/2018-08-13.
Accessed: March 2026.

2. NICE. Multimorbidity: How common is it? (2023) Available at: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/multimorbidity/background-information/
prevalence/ Accessed: February 2026

3. Gov.uk. Official Statistics Respiratory disease profile: statistical commentary,
June 2025, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/
update-of-indicators-in-the-respiratory-disease-profile-june-2025/
respiratory-disease-profile-statistical-commentary-june-2025?
Accessed: February 2026

4.NHS England. Business case guidance for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
biologics. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/
business-case-guidance-copd-biologics/ Accessed: February 2026

5.Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2023. Health in an Ageing Society.
Available at: https://www.housinglin.org.uk/_assets/Resources/
Housing/OtherOrganisation/
CMO_s-annual-report-2023-health-in-an-ageing-society-full-report.pdf
Accessed: February 2026

6.Imperial College London. Social and psychological determinants of adult imunisation. Available at: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/
research-and-impact/groups/patient-safety-research-collaboration/our-work/prior-to-august-2017/theme-3-patients-carers-and-families/social-and-psychological-determinants-of-adult-immunisation/ Accessed: April 2026

7.Brown Nicholls LA, Gallant AJ, Cogan N, Rasmussen S, Young D, Williams L.
Older Adults vaccine hesitancy: Psychosocial factors associated with influenza,
pneumococcal, and shingles vaccine uptake.
Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S0264410X21005442/
Accessed: April 2026

8.The Health Foundation. Options for a future public health system in England. 2024. Available at: https://www.health.org.uk/reports-and-analysis/briefings/options-for-a-future-public-health-system-in-england.
Accessed: March 2026

9.The Lancet Public Health. Reforming the public health system in England. 2022. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00199-2/fulltext. Accessed March 2026.

10.Home Care Insight. Preventative care could save the UK £11.1bn & add up to seven years of healthy life. Available at: https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/preventative-care-could-save-billions/ Accessed: February 2026