02.10.14
Mixed reaction to PM's NHS budget promise
The Conservatives will protect the NHS budget in real terms for the length of the next Parliament if it wins the next general election, David Cameron pledged in his speech to the Tory conference yesterday.
In his closing speech, the PM said his party protected the NHS budget when it came into government in 2010, and that “the next Conservative government will protect the NHS budget and continue to invest more”.
Under his plans, the budget for the NHS would grow at least with the rate of inflation, delivering at a minimum flat funding in real terms.
Cameron also used his speech to hit back at Labour, and was severely critical of their time managing the health service, citing the Mid Staffordshire scandal.
He accused the opposition of saying “the old rubbish about the Conservatives and the NHS” and “spreading complete and utter lies” at its conference last week.
Cameron also reiterated the Tory line that “you can only have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy”.
Reaction to the speech was mixed. The pledge to protect funding was universally welcomed; however the Foundation Trust Network said it will not be enough.
“The harsh and uncomfortable reality is that neither this nor the pledge made by Labour last week goes very far in closing the financial gap facing the NHS,” they said in a statement.
They go on to point out demand for NHS care is rising by 4% a year and that under both pledges, the NHS' income would lag a long way behind the demands being placed upon it.
Ed Miliband promised last week that Labour would provide an additional annual £2.5bn a year “time to care fund” funded by a mansion tax, closing tax loopholes and fees on the tobacco companies.
The NHS Confederation is also unsure that maintaining funding at current levels will be a sufficient step towards sustaining the NHS in the future.
“We need to see, for example, how social care fits into what is a critical period for the service,” said Rob Webster, NHS Confederation chief executive. “We will also need to be clear on the level of funding and the priorities for reform as we cannot work on the basis of more of the same.
“A broad coalition of NHS, local government and patient groups has asked for long-term settlements for health and care, for a £2bn transition fund to support changes for at least two years and a serious debate with the public about how the NHS works in the light of their spending decisions. This announcement covers part of this ground, showing politicians are beginning to heed what the service and patients are asking. We will continue to work to ensure that the unanswered questions are also clear as we set out to secure an NHS fit for the 21st century.”
The King’s Fund was even less enthusiastic about the promise to protect funding.
Chris Ham, chief executive of the think tank, said: “As they stand, neither Labour nor the Conservatives have addressed the scale of the funding challenge facing the NHS. In the short term, more money is needed to support NHS organisations struggling as a result of the unprecedented pressures on their budgets and meet the costs of essential changes to services. While there is still scope to improve productivity, unless this funding is found, patients will bear the cost as staff numbers are cut, waiting times rise and quality of care deteriorates.”
He added that the recommendations of the Barker Commission need to be addressed so that health and social care are put on sustainable footing and hard choices need to be made about how to pay for this.
(Image: c. Isabel Infantes/EMPICS Entertainment)
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