19.10.17
Government has ‘no choice’ but to spend on hospitals
The government must urgently put more funds into hospitals in the Autumn Budget, a new study has suggested.
The Autumn 2017 Performance Tracker, created by the Institute for Government (IfG) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), analysed central government spending across nine sectors.
Despite the £1.8bn transformation bailout fund and one-off savings, NHS providers ended the year with a reported £791m deficit. Further to this, a projected £500m deficit is expected across this year – although the Nuffield Trust has suggested this could actually be closer to £3bn.
The report said the government must address “continuing overspends and deteriorating performance” or put in more upfront cash to allow the system to stay afloat.
The arguments are motivated by fears of a cycle of spending increases and major crisis points, with long-term planning needed at the Autumn Budget to avoid this outcome.
NHS Providers responded to the document, backing up claims that £10bn spending over the last five years cannot continue to just prop up failing services.
“This report provides a comprehensive and invaluable assessment of the spending pressures on public services,” said Saffron Cordery, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers. “Inevitably, given the growing demand so clearly outlined in the Performance Tracker, the NHS is a key area of concern.
“The institute is right to highlight continuing high levels of patient satisfaction, which under the circumstances is an extraordinary achievement. However, growing numbers of patients face unacceptable delays for treatment. Despite the best efforts of NHS trusts and their staff, financial pressures and workforce shortages are having a growing impact on the quality and safety of care.
“The report calls for an honest assessment of what can be delivered within current funding constraints. We couldn’t agree more.”
The IfG also said that the government must focus on changes to the way it makes major spending decisions in a number of areas. Both schools and adult social care were specific problem areas, where recent allocations of extra funding have failed to deal with systemic problems in the system.
An additional £2bn over three years was allotted to adult social care spending in this year’s Spring Budget in order to pad out the current system. However, in spite of signs that the system is stabilising, with the number of delayed transfers of care no longer rising, problems still persist.
This week, Age UK pointed to an ageing population and changing attitudes to elderly care as a reason for ongoing bed blocking and care transfer problems.