Hospital bosses warn that NHS five year budget plan ‘not enough’

Health bosses have warned that unless the NHS gets more money, hospital patients in England will see cuts in staff numbers, rationing and rising waiting times.

Although there is currently a five year plan to raise the budget by £8bn a year by 2020, this plan was only put in place last year and hospital bosses have now warned that this will not be enough.

The NHS half-year accounts for the year 2016-17 has shown that NHS trusts and hospitals have been unable to keep in budget and that in the six months to September 2016, NHS trusts overspent by £648m.

The NHS Providers membership organisation’s Chris Hopson, said the budget needed to be revised and he criticised the way the budgets had been structured.

Mr Hopson stressed that the spending increase of £8bn was inaccurate and that the rise was actually £4.5bn when other budget cuts, including funding for training and public health schemes, was taken into account.

He added that increased demands on GPs and hospitals had been underestimated and said that the target to save £22bn by 2020 was “too ambitious”.

Mr Hopson went on to say “For all these reasons, there is now a clear and widening gap between what is being asked of the NHS and the funding available to deliver it.

“We are therefore asking for a new plan for the rest of the parliament to finalise or confirm the NHS budget and honestly and realistically set out what can be delivered.

“If there are no changes to the money available we will need to set out what the NHS stops doing. Right now the service cannot deliver what is being asked of it on the current budget.”

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence compensation claims, and have obtained substantial compensation for our clients. Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Freephone : 0800 028 2969