NHS funding boost welcome but capital shortfall remains

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcements on the Comprehensive Spending Review, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“Health leaders recognise that the NHS is being prioritised for investment over other parts of the public sector. The funding boost is welcome given the precarious state of public finances and will help the NHS to cope with rising demand from an ageing population, often with multiple or more complex physical and mental health conditions.

“But difficult decisions will still need to be made as this additional £29 billion won’t be enough to cover the increasing cost of new treatments, with staff pay likely to account for a large proportion of it. So on its own, this won’t guarantee that waiting time targets are met.

“NHS leaders will therefore need continued backing from the government to redesign services and balance budgets. That means getting political backing when some services are redesigned or cut, including moving hospital services into the community and closer to people’s homes as part of the government’s three shifts.

“Given the difficult state of public finances health leaders will understand that there is only so much vital capital funding to go round. But we cannot ignore that today’s flat settlement continues to leave a major shortfall in capital funding and also fails to lift the ban on private investment that is required to boost NHS capital funding. This needs to be addressed in the upcoming national infrastructure strategy and ten-year plan. Only then will the NHS be able to work with the private sector to build new healthcare facilities, including much mooted neighbourhood health hubs, while also supporting economic growth and local regeneration.”