The UK government has announced that it is increasing the number of NHS hospital appointments and procedures in England by 40,000 per week. The move will include investment of £1.5bn in equipment and buildings for the NHS, covering surgical hubs, new scanners, and radiotherapy machines. The funding has been praised by health experts, although they have also warned that there are still many questions to be answered with regards to future policy. The government’s 10-year NHS plan will not be published until next spring and full details of the funding plans will come in Wednesday’s Budget.
The UK Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has repeatedly stated that “the NHS is broken” since taking on the role earlier this year. The latest waiting time figures for the NHS in England show that the backlog for hospital care is now 7.64 million, with over 280,000 people waiting for more than a year for an operation, scan, or appointment. A report published last month also warned that the NHS in England is in a “critical condition”, falling well short of its key targets for cancer treatment, emergency (A&E), and hospital treatment.
Soon after the UK election, the new government allocated £1.8bn to cover work by hospitals in England to reduce waiting lists for planned treatment and appointments. The Treasury has now announced that more funding will be provided to help the NHS deliver the extra 40,000 appointments and procedures per week, as promised in the Labour manifesto. There will also be a further £1.57bn of capital investment in the next financial year. However, the overall spending numbers for the NHS in England and the Department of Health and Social Care for this year and next are yet to be published by the Treasury.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the NHS is “the lifeblood of Britain” and is “putting an end to the neglect and underinvestment it has seen for over a decade”. She added that the government was “the government that took the NHS from its worst crisis in its history, got it back on its feet again and made it fit for the bright future ahead of it.” Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said “Our NHS is broken but it’s not beaten and this budget is the moment we start to fix it.”
According to Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund, there is still much more work to be done. He has called on the government to keep the commitment to the NHS as the first step in meeting its ambitions to deliver an NHS that is fit for the future. The existing backlog of NHS maintenance issues with building and equipment stands at a “staggering” £13.8bn. One of the biggest challenges the NHS faces is not just investment but also securing enough staff to take on extra shifts. Staff vacancies are high, and employees are currently feeling overworked and under pressure
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