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| King's Fund worried NHS cuts |
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Caring Times, February 2010
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The King's Fund, the healthcare reform and campaign organisation, has expressed grave concerns over announcements made about the NHS in the Chancellor's Pre-Budget report.
Professor John Appleby, chief economist at The King's Fund, said: 'The announcement suggests that overall there will be a cut in the total NHS budget in real terms in 2011/12 and 2012/13. The Chancellor promises that 95 per cent of health service funding will see increases 'in line with inflation'. While tough, this is better than the situation faced by many other spending departments.'
The fund says that clarity is needed about what is at risk if the 'unprotected' five per cent is cut - equivalent to around �5 billion for the NHS in England. It says that savings may be made in administration costs but if training or research budgets are cut then this could have consequences for future productivity and quality.
'The funding gap between Derek Wanless's projections for NHS spending and that faced in reality, identified by The King's Fund and IFS, means that the NHS must achieve productivity gains of 6 per cent a year for the next three years at least. This is a real challenge as NHS productivity has actually fallen in the past ten years by around 1 per cent a year.
'As the population continues to grow and to age, more people will need care. Just to meet these extra demographic demands requires an additional real rise for the NHS of 1 per cent a year.'
A cash cap of 1 per cent on NHS staff pay increases will cut around 1 percentage point off the annual six per cent productivity improvement required, but for NHS staff this could mean a pay cut and still leaves the NHS to make its money go further.
'There will have to be trade-offs if we want a health care system which is fit for the 21st century, added Professor Appleby. 'Every pound spent in the NHS will need to be stretched further, but at the same time ensuring patient safety and quality of care are not compromised.'
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