Think tanks join together in call to strengthen NHS finances

In a letter to the Times the Nuffield Trust, The King's Fund and the Health Foundation highlight a significant funding gap for the NHS.

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Published: 06/06/2017

Sir, A strong NHS is vital for a thriving population, workforce and economy. Public spending on healthcare accounts for just over 7 per cent of our national wealth. That is not enough to cope with the ageing population and other cost pressures.

Projections by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility suggest that a real-terms funding increase of about £30 billion a year is needed in five years’ time to enable the NHS to deal with these pressures. None of the main political parties has pledged enough to cover even half of that, while the share of our national wealth spent on healthcare would fall under all of their plans.

The next government must act quickly to strengthen the health service’s finances in the short term, as well as developing a sustainable, long-term approach to funding the NHS, to put an end to the cycle of feast and famine. This should include establishing an independent body to assess and advise on health and social care funding needs.

The NHS must also focus on improving efficiency and use additional funding to reform care to meet changing population needs. Failure to provide sufficient funding and improve efficiency will result in longer waiting times for patients, poorer access to cost-effective drugs and treatments and a decline in NHS and social care.

Jennifer Dixon, CEO, the Health Foundation; Nigel Edwards, CEO, Nuffield Trust; Chris Ham, CEO, the King’s Fund

This letter first appeared in the Times on Tuesday 06 June 2017. See related article: NHS faces £20bn funding hole whoever wins (£).

Suggested citation

Edwards, N., Dixon, J., Ham, C. (2017) 'Think tanks join together in call to strengthen NHS finances'. Nuffield Trust comment, 6 June 2017. https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/think-tanks-join-together-in-call-to-strengthen-nhs-finances

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