Call for £4bn more a year

THE NHS needs an extra £4billion a year to stop operations being rationed and care deteriorating, three health think-tanks warn today.

Next year will be a ‘crunch year’, according to the King’s Fund, the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation, with the NHS budget due to grow by only 0.4 per cent – one of the lowest in its history.

To properly cope with the rising, ageing population, the budget must be increased 4.3 per cent a year on average by 2022/23 – equivalent to a £4billion a year on the current £123.8billion total, they say.

Chris Ham, chief executive of the King’s Fund, said: ‘The message is clear – unless the Government finds the money the NHS and social care need, patients and their families will suffer the consequences’.

The Royal College of Nursing said the upcoming Budget was an opportunity to ‘change course’ on NHS funding.