19.11.14
A third of NHS executives say their trust may not cope with winter pressures
More than a third of NHS executives are not confident that their trust will be able to provide high quality care this winter, a new poll has revealed.
Among senior executives from NHS provider organisations who responded to a survey from the Foundation Trust Network, 34% said that they were either ‘not very confident’ or ‘not at all confident’ their trust would be able to cope with the winter pressures, while half said they were ‘fairly confident’ they could.
In contrast, a poll of the public from IPSOS Mori found that 70% of the public were confident that patients would continue to receive high-quality care this winter.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of the Foundation Trust Network, said: “Each year the pressure on frontline emergency services increases with staff continuing to work incredibly hard to deliver high quality and accessible care. But if we truly want a resilient urgent and emergency care system that continues to deliver world class access and care we need adequate funding to support these essential services for current and future patients.”
The poll also showed that NHS executives think people should pay more tax to fund the health service, or be prepared to be charged for some services currently provided for free.
Almost two-thirds said the government should raise taxes to help preserve the health service. While 27% suggested that instead of paying more tax people should be charged for certain services, such as IVF treatment or obesity surgery.
In October Rob Webster, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, suggested that the NHS funding could only be used for the health aspects of care and treatment, and that patients could foot the bill for bed and board.
The survey is likely to add to the debate around what services the NHS can afford to provide, and how it will meet the estimated £30bn funding gap it faces.
Amongst the public, 30% favoured increased taxes, and 39% favoured increased charging for some NHS services.
Hopson added: “Both the public and NHS staff have made clear that as a nation we do not want to see the standard of care slip from its current world class position. While we recognise the economy is significantly challenged, the NHS employs over a million people, and has a major role in local and national business through procurement, capital investment, and research and development. Every pound invested in the NHS delivers benefits for patients and society.
“What this data highlights is that we need to do things differently and have an honest and national debate on the choice between more money for the NHS or a lower level of care. Our conference with its gathering of NHS leaders is the ideal place to kick off this debate because, at the end of the day, you get what you pay for.”
NHE was at the Foundation Trust Network’s annual conference yesterday, where Hopson delivered an address highlighting growing patient demand and a shortage of funding to plug the skills gap as two of the main reasons why the foundation trust sector is “collectively in deficit for the first time ever”.
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