11.01.18
Research launched to investigate health and care spending needs for next 15 years
There will be a comprehensive study into the needs of the UK’s health and care systems for the next 15 years, the NHS Confederation has announced today.
The work, which will be undertaken by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Health Foundation, will aim to identify the challenges faced by health and care services, as well as to provide objective evidence of what will be needed in the future.
It is hoped that the research will be used to inform political and public debate about what will be required to deliver a health and care system fit for the 21st century.
The first of two reports will be presented at the confederation’s annual conference in Manchester in June 2018, summarising UK spending trends since 2002, with projections for funding requirements until 2032.
It will include an assessment of the scope for increased effectiveness and productivity to deliver the best value for money, and compare the UK’s health and care spending to that of other comparable countries.
It will also propose potential options for methods of raising additional funding.
The second report will be published towards the end of the year, examining how well the NHS is performing relevant to its principle of “providing a comprehensive service, which meets the needs of all.”
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that almost everybody understands that the pressures faced by the health and care systems are becoming “intolerable.”
He called the study an important first step towards achieving a more rounded and considered debate.
“Now is the time to have an objective assessment of what we need over the next 10 to 15 years to stimulate debate about what we as a society are willing to pay for and what we can expect from our health and care system,” he added.
Director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation, Anita Charlesworth, explained: “The health and care system in the UK has too often been subject to boom and bust planning and short-term decisions.
“It is time for a longer-term approach to planning, and this requires accurate research and analysis of the pressures the NHS will face in the future.”
Paul Johnson, director of Institute for Fiscal Studies also stated: “Informing the choices over levels of funding, future requirements and ways of raising that funding is crucial.
“We are delighted to be working with the Health Foundation and the NHS Confederation to help provide some of the necessary analysis.”
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