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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/17/theresa-may-nhs-pledge-decried-as-sticking-plaster-health-foundation
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| Theresa May's NHS pledge decried as sticking plaster | Theresa May's NHS pledge decried as sticking plaster |
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| Theresa May’s plans to increase NHS funding by 3.4% is a “sticking plaster” that is insufficient to drive real improvement in the health service, one of the UK’s most influential thinktanks said on Sunday. | Theresa May’s plans to increase NHS funding by 3.4% is a “sticking plaster” that is insufficient to drive real improvement in the health service, one of the UK’s most influential thinktanks said on Sunday. |
| Reacting to the news of May’s proposed £20bn rise in funding over a decade, several organisations suggested it was less than needed to drive improvements, and would rather only stem the NHS’s decline. | Reacting to the news of May’s proposed £20bn rise in funding over a decade, several organisations suggested it was less than needed to drive improvements, and would rather only stem the NHS’s decline. |
| The Health Foundation said the increase fell short of the 4% minimum required to roll back years of damage inflicted by eight years of austerity. “A giant sticking plaster is still just a sticking plaster,” it said. | The Health Foundation said the increase fell short of the 4% minimum required to roll back years of damage inflicted by eight years of austerity. “A giant sticking plaster is still just a sticking plaster,” it said. |
| The foundation’s director of research and economics, Anita Charlesworth, called May’s announcement a missed opportunity. It will mean “longer waits for treatment, ongoing staff shortages, deterioration of NHS buildings and equipment, and little progress to address cancer care”, she said. “Tackling the huge disparity in access to mental healthcare will have to be an aspiration rather than reality for another five years.” | The foundation’s director of research and economics, Anita Charlesworth, called May’s announcement a missed opportunity. It will mean “longer waits for treatment, ongoing staff shortages, deterioration of NHS buildings and equipment, and little progress to address cancer care”, she said. “Tackling the huge disparity in access to mental healthcare will have to be an aspiration rather than reality for another five years.” |
| The Nuffield Trust, which has also called for a 4% minimum increase in NHS funding, called the commitment a big step forward, but its chief executive, Nigel Edwards, said it was not “quite all it seems”. Closer inspection suggested it did not apply to the whole Department of Health and Social Care budget, leaving out spending on things such as training staff, building hospitals and public health, he said. | The Nuffield Trust, which has also called for a 4% minimum increase in NHS funding, called the commitment a big step forward, but its chief executive, Nigel Edwards, said it was not “quite all it seems”. Closer inspection suggested it did not apply to the whole Department of Health and Social Care budget, leaving out spending on things such as training staff, building hospitals and public health, he said. |
| “Leaving out these crucial areas will make it much harder for the NHS to realise its plans to tackle the growing crisis facing the NHS workforce and to shift towards a focus on preventing ill health. | “Leaving out these crucial areas will make it much harder for the NHS to realise its plans to tackle the growing crisis facing the NHS workforce and to shift towards a focus on preventing ill health. |
| “While a welcome respite, it will not equip the NHS to make much-needed changes to services, adopt new technologies or expand the workforce. The prime minister’s ambition to create a world-class health service will be difficult to achieve with spending increases of less than the historic average.” | “While a welcome respite, it will not equip the NHS to make much-needed changes to services, adopt new technologies or expand the workforce. The prime minister’s ambition to create a world-class health service will be difficult to achieve with spending increases of less than the historic average.” |
| The Patients Association said the new funding would stabilise the NHS’s performance, but that it would do little to transform services to meet the changing needs of an ageing population with increasingly complex health conditions. | The Patients Association said the new funding would stabilise the NHS’s performance, but that it would do little to transform services to meet the changing needs of an ageing population with increasingly complex health conditions. |
| “Patients have been waiting with bated breath for news of an announcement that will give the health service a sustainable future. Despite that, the government has chosen not to deliver it,” said its chief executive, Rachel Power. | “Patients have been waiting with bated breath for news of an announcement that will give the health service a sustainable future. Despite that, the government has chosen not to deliver it,” said its chief executive, Rachel Power. |
| “It is a classic false economy. If our NHS and public health system can’t support people to keep as well as possible in their own homes, more and more people will hit a crisis and end up in increasingly pressured hospitals. We will be back in another funding crisis situation in a few years’ time,” she said. | “It is a classic false economy. If our NHS and public health system can’t support people to keep as well as possible in their own homes, more and more people will hit a crisis and end up in increasingly pressured hospitals. We will be back in another funding crisis situation in a few years’ time,” she said. |
| “Meanwhile, patients look set to be kept waiting in pain and discomfort for operations, and the squeeze on NHS provision that we have recently seen on things like over-the-counter and ‘low value’ medicines will continue. | “Meanwhile, patients look set to be kept waiting in pain and discomfort for operations, and the squeeze on NHS provision that we have recently seen on things like over-the-counter and ‘low value’ medicines will continue. |
| “Where there should be reassurance for patients, there is only uncertainty and concern today.” | “Where there should be reassurance for patients, there is only uncertainty and concern today.” |
| The chief executive of the King’s Fund, Chris Ham, said May had given the NHS a shot in the arm but not provided the long term cure that would restore it to full health. | The chief executive of the King’s Fund, Chris Ham, said May had given the NHS a shot in the arm but not provided the long term cure that would restore it to full health. |
| Hard choices would have to be made about where funding increases should be used to drive improvements in cancer care, mental health and general practice, he said. | Hard choices would have to be made about where funding increases should be used to drive improvements in cancer care, mental health and general practice, he said. |
| Britain contributes more money to the European Union than it takes out. Vote leave campaigners emphasised before the referendum that leaving the EU would free up these funds for the UK government to spend on vital infrastructure and austerity-hit services like the NHS. | Britain contributes more money to the European Union than it takes out. Vote leave campaigners emphasised before the referendum that leaving the EU would free up these funds for the UK government to spend on vital infrastructure and austerity-hit services like the NHS. |
| The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is the Treasury’s independent economic forecaster, has calculated that any benefit to the UK has all but disappeared in the past two years, largely due to a slowdown in the economy that it blames on the Brexit effect. | The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is the Treasury’s independent economic forecaster, has calculated that any benefit to the UK has all but disappeared in the past two years, largely due to a slowdown in the economy that it blames on the Brexit effect. |
| Once it became clear to businesses and consumers that the government was split over how to negotiate Britain’s departure from the EU, creating huge uncertainty about the outcome, investment fell, productivity stagnated and consumer spending flatlined. This has forced the OBR and the other main forecaster, the Bank of England (BoE), to downgrade GDP growth this year and next year. The implied hit to the public finances is about £15bn a year by the early 2020s. | Once it became clear to businesses and consumers that the government was split over how to negotiate Britain’s departure from the EU, creating huge uncertainty about the outcome, investment fell, productivity stagnated and consumer spending flatlined. This has forced the OBR and the other main forecaster, the Bank of England (BoE), to downgrade GDP growth this year and next year. The implied hit to the public finances is about £15bn a year by the early 2020s. |
| Britain pays around £19bn into the EU pot each year, much of it coming back to the UK in the form of subsidies for farmers, research and development and infrastructure projects plus a £5bn rebate. This situation will continue during a transition deal, denying the government the Brexit dividend until 2020. | Britain pays around £19bn into the EU pot each year, much of it coming back to the UK in the form of subsidies for farmers, research and development and infrastructure projects plus a £5bn rebate. This situation will continue during a transition deal, denying the government the Brexit dividend until 2020. |
| The OBR said the UK’s £5bn rebate has already been “spent” on domestic priorities and cannot be spent again. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said in its assessment that the remaining £14bn could theoretically be redirected, but the government has already pledged to replace at least some EU spending (for example, farming subsidies) for some years, leaving an £8bn surplus. However, a reduction in GDP of just 1% translates to a fall in tax revenue of more than £8bn. | The OBR said the UK’s £5bn rebate has already been “spent” on domestic priorities and cannot be spent again. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said in its assessment that the remaining £14bn could theoretically be redirected, but the government has already pledged to replace at least some EU spending (for example, farming subsidies) for some years, leaving an £8bn surplus. However, a reduction in GDP of just 1% translates to a fall in tax revenue of more than £8bn. |
| The Bank of England said the trend rate of growth for the UK has fallen from around 2.5% to 1.5%, which matches the fall needed to wipe out the Brexit dividend. BoE governor Mark Carney said household incomes after adjusting for inflation were £900 lower than expected before the referendum vote. | The Bank of England said the trend rate of growth for the UK has fallen from around 2.5% to 1.5%, which matches the fall needed to wipe out the Brexit dividend. BoE governor Mark Carney said household incomes after adjusting for inflation were £900 lower than expected before the referendum vote. |
| “Real household incomes are about £900 per household lower than we forecast in May of 2016, which is a lot of money,” he said, referring to the total lost growth for incomes in the two years since the 2016 referendum.By Phillip Inman | |
| “It is essential that some of the extra funding is ringfenced to support new ways of providing integrated care to improve patient experience and take pressure off hospitals,” he said. “While we welcome the prime minister’s assurance that future decisions about social care spending will not add to pressures on the NHS, this hardly suggests an ambitious statement of intent.” | “It is essential that some of the extra funding is ringfenced to support new ways of providing integrated care to improve patient experience and take pressure off hospitals,” he said. “While we welcome the prime minister’s assurance that future decisions about social care spending will not add to pressures on the NHS, this hardly suggests an ambitious statement of intent.” |
| The chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, said the funding would help the the health service “face the next five years with renewed certainty”. | The chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, said the funding would help the the health service “face the next five years with renewed certainty”. |
| Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said the funding increase represented a significant improvement, adding there needed to be honest debate about the difference it could make. | Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said the funding increase represented a significant improvement, adding there needed to be honest debate about the difference it could make. |
| “One danger is that it simply goes to prop up the existing system, which will certainly not be able to cope, even with this injection,” he said. | “One danger is that it simply goes to prop up the existing system, which will certainly not be able to cope, even with this injection,” he said. |
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