A long term condition is one that can not be cured but can be managed through medication and/or therapy.
There is no definitive list of long term conditions. Conditions such as, diabetes, asthma, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and mental health issues can all be included as a long term condition. As there are many long term conditions, DH policy is generic and not disease specific.
There are around 15 million people in England with at least one long term condition.
Numbers are expected to increase, in particular those with two or more conditions.
Ten things you need to know about long term conditions
1. Around 15 million people in England, or almost one in three of the population, have a long term condition. This number has fallen in recent years: as people become better able and supported to manage their condition, some no longer report having one.
2. Half of people aged over 60 in England have a long term condition.
3. While the number of people in England with a long term condition is likely to remain
relatively steady, the number of people with comorbidities is expected to rise by a third in the
next ten years.
4. People with long term conditions are the most frequent users of healthcare services.
Those with long term conditions account for 29 percent of the population, but use 50 percent
of all GP appointments and 70 percent of all inpatient bed days.
5. It is estimated that the treatment and care of those with long term conditions accounts for
70 percent of the primary and acute care budget in England. This means around one third
of the population account for over two thirds of the spend.
6. 7.1 million people have clinically identified hypertension. It is estimated that the same
number again have unidentified hypertension, meaning that over a quarter of the population has the condition.
7. Common mental health problems affect about one in seven of the adult population, with severe mental health problems affecting one in a hundred.
8. The proportion of people with a limiting long term condition in work is a third lower than those who don’t.
9. Long term conditions fall more heavily on the poorest in society: compared to social class I,
people in social class V have 60 percent higher prevalence of long term conditions and 60 percent higher severity of conditions
10. Around 170,000 people die prematurely in England each year in total, with main causes being cancers and circulatory diseases. And those with long term conditions are likely to have a lower quality of life
Original Source:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Longtermconditions/tenthingsyouneedtoknow/index.htm
