30.10.17
Coalition pleads with treasury for more funding to tackle health and social care crisis
A group made up of some of the UK’s largest health organisations has sent a letter to the Treasury pleading for greater funds to support the precarious state of NHS health care.
Coordinated by the NHS Confederation, the letter warns that social care is nearing a tipping point and must be provided with more funding and a clearer plan which goes beyond 2020.
It refers heavily to the CQC’s ‘State of Care’ report, which said that services were coping but now nearing breaking point because of increasing demands and complexity within the care sector.
The link between health and social care has been a major cause of stresses within NHS systems in recent times and the letter refers directly to this problem.
It also warns that the market for care is increasingly fragile, with authorities reporting some social care providers have ceased trading or handed back contracts.
In addition, the group urges chancellor Philip Hammond to revisit spending plans for 2018-19 and 2019-20, and provide ring fenced funding to enable new models of care to be developed.
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Ahead of the budget, this is a genuine cry for help from those who are responsible for health and care services. The government is understandably distracted by Brexit, but if it fails to address the points in this letter, there will be a political price, on top of the price already being paid by those who rely on these services.
“Until now services have manged remarkably well given the growing pressures but as the government’s own regulator has admitted these services are in a fragile state,” he continued. “Of course, there is more local services can do to improve the way services are organised, but we are clear - without further funding today’s perilous state will become tomorrow’s tragedy.
“The wide support for this letter should be a wake-up call for the Treasury - all the medical royal colleges, the entire NHS, major voluntary organisations plus social care and carers are calling on the government and indeed the entire political class to wake up to this challenge.”
The organisations involved in the letter include ADASS, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, NHS Providers, Carers UK, the Association of UK University Hospitals, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and the Richmond Group which covers a huge range of medical charities.
In order to finance many of their concerns – such as increasing capital investment – the group suggests the government bring forward the remaining £5.2bn of the £8bn promised in the Conservative Manifesto.
The money was included in the party’s election promises but only £2.8bn over the next three years has currently been accounted for.