NHS needs extra £3bn, health bosses warn ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget
Health bosses are demanding an additional £3bn for the NHS to cover redundancy costs and the impact of strikes, and warn cost pressures threaten the government’s plan to reduce waiting lists.
Chief executives of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers are calling for cash ahead of next month’s budget and say progress on waiting time targets could be at risk without extra funding.
They say there are three main costs not accounted for in the NHS budget for this financial year: redundancy costs, pressures from strike action and rising drug prices following Donald Trump’s interventions.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said staff “wanted to deliver on the government’s NHS reform agenda but have one hand tied behind their back because they don’t have access to the upfront money they need to make redundancies that would save taxpayers money”.
He added: “Unbudgeted redundancy payments, high drug prices and the renewed threat of industrial action risk derailing progress on key waiting time targets and the wider reforms needed to get the NHS back on track.”
NHS Providers boss Daniel Elkeles said the service was left with the choice “either balance the books or cut waiting lists and face further shortages that threaten services”.
Rachel Reeves will deliver this year’s autumn budget on November 26 as she looks to fill gaps in public finances.
It faces the possibility of having to take advantage of tax increases or spending cuts to meet its commitments to cover daily expenses with tax revenues rather than extra borrowing.
The intervention by healthcare leaders comes after it was announced that doctors in England would go on strike for five days in November over an ongoing row over work and pay.
The BMA announced in recent weeks that the junior doctors’ strike would last from 7am on 14 November until the same time on 19 November.
Junior doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, have up to eight years’ experience of working as a hospital doctor or three years in general practice, depending on their specialisation.
A spokesman for the department of health and social care said: “This government has invested a record-breaking £29 billion in our NHS, including up to £10 billion in digital and technology transformation and up to £750 million in urgent capital repairs, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to properly funding the healthcare services we all rely on.
“We know that unnecessary strikes take money, time and resources away from the frontline, which is why the Health Secretary has called on the BMA to stop being selfish and put patients first.
“But investment alone is not enough; it must go hand in hand with reform. That’s why we’re doing things differently: not just fixing the NHS, but driving it forward on our plan for change. And it’s already working. We’ve taken more than 200,000 people off the waiting list, delivered another 5 million appointments, and GP satisfaction is finally on the rise.”
