Solutions for Public Health

What Solutions for Public Health does

Solutions for Public Health (SPH) is a UK-based public-health consultancy hosted within NHS Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit, with operational roots stretching back to 1995 and continuous operation under the SPH brand since 2009. The firm delivers evidence reviews, evaluation, population health needs assessments, health intelligence, health policy advice, service pathway review, stakeholder engagement, economic assessment and Individual Funding Requests (IFR) training to NHS England, Integrated Care Boards, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, local government, voluntary-sector organisations, professional bodies, other Commissioning Support Units and selected international public-sector clients (including the States of Guernsey). The team is multidisciplinary — public-health consultants, information analysts, health economists, former commissioners, pharmacists and GPs — and routinely defends commissioning decisions under judicial review on behalf of NHS commissioners.

The firm's core deliverables are human-expert-produced analytical reports rather than a software platform; underlying technical components consist of epidemiological analysis of NHS data sources (SUS, ONS, OHID datasets), structured evidence-review methodologies consistent with public-health standards, and economic evaluation frameworks applied to NHS commissioning questions. Outputs include national-scope evidence reviews (e.g., the NHS England Lung Cancer Screening Programme evidence review underpinning the Targeted Lung Health Checks programme), national health needs assessments (e.g., thalassaemia), specialised-services compliance audits, programme evaluation (e.g., the Warm Homes Programme), and commissioner training packages.

The business model is professional-services fee-for-work delivered through NHS and public-sector procurement frameworks. SPH does not operate as an independent commercial entity — it sits inside NHS Arden & GEM CSU and so invoices via the CSU's NHS-procurement standing. Pricing is framework-based day-rate or fixed-price contracting against public-sector tenders; there is no disclosed subscription, SaaS or licensing revenue. The headcount band (11–50 employees) and absence of any external capital raise are consistent with a stable, demand-led consultancy whose growth is constrained by public-sector commissioning budgets rather than venture-style scaling dynamics.

Name

Solutions for Public Health

Legal name

Solutions for Public Health

Website

https://sph.nhs.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Solutions for Public Health is a UK NHS-hosted consultancy providing evidence reviews, health needs assessments, evaluation, health intelligence and policy support to NHS England, ICBs, DHSC, local government and other public-sector bodies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Derby

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Health Consultancy Services: SPH generates revenue through commissioned consultancy projects for NHS England, integrated care systems, local authorities, commissioning support units, and other public sector health organisations. Work includes evidence reviews, needs assessments, evaluations, policy development, and health intelligence services.
2. Training and Capacity Building: SPH delivers training for IFR teams, panel members, commissioning managers and other stakeholders. Also provides Specialist Registrar training placements in partnership with Oxford School of Public Health.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Solutions for Public Health (SPH) is an NHS public health consultancy that provides nine core services: Evidence Reviews, Evaluation, Population Health Needs Assessment, Health Intelligence, Health Policy, Service Pathway Review, Stakeholder Engagement, Economic Assessment/Evaluation/Modelling, and IFR Training & Support. Work is delivered by multidisciplinary teams of Consultants in Public Health Medicine, clinical experts, researchers and analysts to NHS England, Integrated Care Boards, local authorities, CSUs, and other public health organisations. SPH operates as part of NHS Arden & GEM CSU's Health and Care Transformation directorate.

Product overview

Solutions for Public Health is an NHS public health consultancy offering a portfolio of nine integrated consulting services. The core offerings include Evidence Reviews (rapid assessment of clinical and cost-effectiveness), Evaluation (process and outcome assessment), Population Health Needs Assessment, Health Intelligence (data analysis using national sources), Health Policy development, Service Pathway Review, Stakeholder Engagement, Economic Assessment with Modelling, and IFR Training and Support. These services work together to help commissioners make evidence-based decisions, with Health Intelligence and Evidence Reviews serving as foundational analytical services that inform Policy development, Pathway Reviews, and Economic Modelling. The consultancy delivers work for Integrated Care Boards, NHS England, local government, and international health organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evidence Reviews

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 lung cancers detected through national screening programme informed by SPH evidence review
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• NHS Arden & GEM CSUcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSPH is part of Health and Care Transformation, the health and care consulting directorate of NHS Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit. They collaborate with CSU teams including Engagement Communications and Marketing, Business Intelligence, and Medicines Management and Optimisation on specific projects.
• Oxford School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPH has been a partner for many years with the Oxford School of Public Health which is part of NHS Health Education England. SPH provides appraised training placements to Specialist Registrars in Public Health in specific areas relevant to their final year of training.
• British Heart FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBHF and Public Health England commissioned SPH to produce a report identifying successful cardiovascular disease prevention programmes from around the world. SPH developed evidence-based case studies about programmes to reduce CVD.
• Eastern AHSNmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEastern AHSN commissioned SPH to carry out a survey of General Practices and produce an evidence map identifying published evidence about the effectiveness of tools for lipid management and familial hypercholesterolaemia identification.
• General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPH provided an independent evaluation of GPhC's pilot of a new validation framework. They developed an evaluation logic model and carried out mixed-methods evaluation including interviews, surveys, focus groups and desk research.
• Health Education England - Genomics Education ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEE's Genomics Education Programme commissioned SPH to carry out an evaluation of early progress in implementation of a competency framework for genomic testing.
• Mid and South Essex Stroke Stewardship GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSPH was part of the project team conducting a librarian review of economic evidence relating to cost-effectiveness of stroke interventions to feed into STAR process workshops for value-based decision-making.
• Public Health EnglandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBHF and PHE commissioned SPH for international CVD prevention case studies. SPH also worked with NHSEI Ageing Well Team and stakeholders to develop proactive care resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit: Another NHS Commissioning Support Unit providing health intelligence, evidence reviews, evaluation and transformation support to ICBs and NHS England. Operates within the same NHS commissioning ecosystem as SPH and addresses an overlapping client base.
• RAND Europe: Independent research organisation conducting applied research and evaluation across health, social policy and public services for governments and NGOs — directly comparable to SPH on evidence review, evaluation and policy analysis mandates.
• NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS): North of England CSU offering similar commissioning support services including health intelligence, evidence synthesis, clinical audit and transformation consultancy to NHS clients — a direct functional peer to SPH.
• Health Economics Unit (HEU): Specialist NHS-affiliated health economics team delivering economic evaluation, modelling and evidence review services to ICBs and NHS commissioners — directly comparable in service mix and NHS client base to SPH.
• York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC): A health economics and evidence review consultancy at the University of York, delivering systematic reviews, economic evaluation and HTA-style work to NHS and public-sector clients — closely comparable in methodology and client mix to SPH.

Broad incumbents

• ICF International (Health & Public Service practice): Global consultancy with a sizeable health and public-sector practice delivering evaluation, evidence review, health policy and programme design work to UK and international public-sector clients — overlapping with SPH's offering but at much greater scale and breadth.
• Deloitte UK (Health and Social Care): Big Four consultancy with a UK public-sector health team providing transformation, evaluation and policy support to NHS bodies — a broader incumbent operating in adjacent commissioning-support territory to SPH.
• Mott MacDonald (Health division): Large engineering and management consultancy with a UK health practice providing health systems advisory, evaluation and commissioning support to NHS and government clients — broader incumbent competing for similar public-sector mandates.
• PwC UK (Health Industries): Big Four firm with a substantial UK health practice delivering strategic advisory, evaluation and transformation services to NHS England, ICBs and DHSC — competing for the larger, more strategic end of the same commissioning-support market.

Others

• NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence): Arm's-length NHS body producing evidence-based guidance and technology appraisals; not a direct competitor but a closely adjacent commissioning-evidence institution that SPH supports and aligns with on clinical and cost-effectiveness reviews.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SolutionsforPH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solutions-for-public-health

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Solutions for Public Health