Budget's £1.6bn cash boost for NHS less than half of experts’ advice

Government warned anything short of extra £4bn next year would leave service struggling to deliver care

Philip Hammond has bowed to intense pressure to give the NHS more money in Wednesday’s budget, but produced less than half the £4bn the health service’s own boss said it needed to look after patients properly next year.

An extra £1.6bn for the NHS in England in 2018-19 will see its budget rise to £126bn, rather than the £124.4bn originally planned. Similarly, it will receive £2.6bn more than planned in 2019-20 to help it withstand the pressures of coping with the increasing demand for care.

Continue reading... November 23, 2017 at 12:04AM