What can you get for £20.5bn?
In June this year, and as confirmed in the Autumn Budget, the Government committed an extra £20.5bn (+3.4%) a year to the NHS by 2023-24. NHS England is due to release a document that will set out what can be achieved. The Guardian newspaper (7 December) has learnt that discussions between ministers and NHS England have been difficult. An NHS England insider has commented that “…everyone knows the extra money is barely enough to maintain current standards, let alone transform services.” The NHS Confederation has already advised that “any funding deal worth less than 4% would see the (National Health) service in ‘managed decline’…”, so this latest news perhaps comes as no surprise.
We should be very concerned about this. As has been reported, much of the additional money raised for the NHS in recent years, as well as the sums committed through to 2023-24, has been at the expense of other vital services including social care, education, police, housing. Any opportunity for the NHS to secure additional money in the next five years, beyond what’s been committed, is therefore likely to be slim to zero as pressure for funding other vital services will need to be met.
Other countries have better funded health systems by adopting a mix of funding models. Increasingly, ‘experts and commentators’ encourage us to urgently consider these. I have already done this and conclude the UK could expand its health system while still retaining the model we rightly cherish – a Government provided, publicly owned and managed service, free at the point of use. A dedicated, ring-fenced top-up health fund would generate significant, long-term sums and provide access to additional capacity and resources. I make the case for a UK-style health top-up at:
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