NHS chief takes high-risk punt by pointing out May and Hammond's miserliness

Simon Stevens’s public warning of dangers of ‘underfunding NHS by £20bn-£30bn a year’ is spectacular in its lack of diplomacy

Simon Stevens’s warning to Theresa May and Philip Hammond of the risks they are running by “underfunding our health services by £20bn-£30bn a year” was spectacular for being so public, pointed and premeditated. It was a plea, a protest, a challenge, and an attempt at persuasion all rolled into one, though longer on direct threat than his usual diplomatic subtlety.

His speech, to NHS trust bosses at the NHS Providers conference, may yield the extra £4bn for the health service next year that NHS England’s chief executive said it needs. Or, depending on its reception in Downing Street and the Treasury, it could lead to the end of his three and a half year stint as the man trusted – until now – by ministers to run and save the NHS.

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Continue reading... November 08, 2017 at 11:32PM