24
Jun 2014
NHS funding gap in England of up to £2bn
For the next financial year, NHS England will be facing a gap in funding of about 2% of its budget, with the possibility of mounting costs outstripping the money received by the NHS from April 2015.
The budget for the NHS in England has been set at about £100bn for 2015. Included in the plan by the government to reduce the UK deficit, it has received a prolonged freeze, although it has been protected from cuts that have applied to most other government departments, however spending has only risen at the rate of inflation.
NHS services have been impacted by higher demand due to factors such as population growth.
The Department of Health has said “The NHS is on track to make £20bn savings this parliament and we are confident that it will continue to make the savings necessary to meet rising demand.”
A Better Care Fund, which has been set up to help local councils and the NHS to provide more integrated health and social care, will receive about £2bn from the NHS budget in 2015/16.
Chris Ham, chief executive of healthcare charity The King’s Fund, said that whilst it was a good idea, it also meant that money was being taken away from hospitals “So they are having to find even bigger efficiency savings to balance the books and deliver good standards of patient care.”
Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, raised concerns about the fund, saying “David Cameron is transferring large amounts of money out of the NHS to back-fill the hole he’s created in social care finances.
“I am worried that the fund will set back the cause of integration and get it a bad name – the policy should be put on hold pending a full parliamentary debate.”
Matt Tee from the NHS confederation which represents NHS trusts, said “What we really need is for the NHS to have some certainty about the funding it will get in future years, so health service leaders can plan most effectively with their populations how to deliver the right services, in the right places, for the best value.”
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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.
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