Health bosses are calling for an additional £3billion for the NHS to cover redundancy costs and strike impacts, and have warned that cost pressures are threatening the government’s plan to bring down waiting lists.
The chief executives of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers are asking for the cash ahead of next month’s Budget, and say that without the extra funding, progress on waiting time targets could be at risk.
They say that there are three main costs that were not accounted for in the NHS budget for this financial year: redundancy costs, pressures due to strike action, and higher drug prices following interventions from Donald Trump.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that staff “want to crack on with delivering the government’s NHS reform agenda, but they have one hand tied behind their backs by not having access to the up-front money they need to make redundancies that will save the taxpayer money down the line.’
He added: “The threat from un-budgeted redundancy payments, higher drug prices and renewed industrial action risks derailing progress on key waiting time targets and the wider reforms that are essential to getting the NHS back on track.”
While Daniel Elkeles, boss of NHS Providers, said that the service is being left with the choice of “either balance the books or cut waiting lists and face more deficits which threaten services”.
Rachel Reeves is due to deliver this year’s autumn Budget on 26 November, as she looks to fill the holes in the public finances.
She is facing the prospect of being forced to use tax hikes or spending cuts to meet her commitments on covering day to day spending with tax receipts, rather than extra borrowing.
The intervention from health leaders comes after it was announced that doctors in England will go on strike for five days in November in the ongoing row over jobs and pay.
The BMA announced last weeks that the walkout from resident doctors will last from 7am on 14 November to the same time on 19 November.
Resident doctors – previously known as junior doctors – have anywhere up to eight years experience working as a hospital doctor depending on their speciality, or up to three years in general practice.
A spokesperson for the department of health and social care said: “”This government has delivered a record-breaking £29 billion investment in our NHS – including up to £10 billion on digital and technology transformation and £750 million for urgent capital repairs – demonstrating our unwavering commitment to properly funding the health service that we all rely on.
“We know that needless strikes will divert money, time and resourcing away from the front line. That’s why the Health Secretary has urged the BMA to stop being selfish and start putting patients first.
“However, investment alone isn’t enough – it must go hand in hand with reform. That is why we’re doing things differently: not just fixing the NHS but moving it forward through our plan for change. And it’s already working. We’ve taken over 200,000 people off waiting lists, delivered 5 million more appointments and GP satisfaction is finally going up.”
