Theresa May pledges to accelerate NHS long-term funding plan

PM to increase funding in 70th birthday year of NHS after pressure from Hunt and Johnson

Theresa May has pledged to bring forward a long-term funding plan for the NHS in response to growing concerns that key health services are being overwhelmed by rising demand.

The prime minister’s announcement comes amid mounting pressure from within Conservative ranks, led by Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, for her to ditch the small spending rises the NHS has received since 2010 and start giving it increases stretching to many billions of pounds a year.

Between 2010-11 and 2016-17, health spending increased by an average of 1.2% above inflation and increases are due to continue in real terms at a similar rate until the end of this parliament. This is far below the annual inflation-proof growth rate that the NHS enjoyed before 2010 of almost 4% stretching back to the 1950s. As budgets tighten, NHS organisations have been struggling to live within their means. In the financial year 2015-16, acute trusts recorded a deficit of £2.6bn. This was reduced to £800m last year, though only after a £1.8bn bung from the Department of Health, which shows the deficit remained the same year on year.

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Continue reading... March 28, 2018 at 12:28AM