‘Extra £50bn a year by 2030... or it goes bust’

THE NHS must be given an extra £50billion a year by 2030 or it will go bust, a major review warns today.

The system faces meltdown amid a cash crisis fuelled by budget cuts and soaring patient numbers.

Top NHS surgeon and ex-Health Minister Lord Ara Darzi will set out the scale of the challenge in an interim report of his independent review. He has concluded that funding needs to rise from £123billion in 2017 to £173billion by 2030.

Prof Lord Darzi said: “While the prospect of a long-term funding settlement is welcome,

it is vital it delivers enough money to meet the demands of the decade ahead.”

Lord Darzi will also warn that pressures on social care are set to accelerate.

As a minimum, adult social care will require an extra £10billion per annum by 2030 just to maintain the existing

system. He added: “Funding the NHS, while social care falls over is not an option.”

3,302 social care services – around 13% – have fallen below standards for at least two Care Quality Commission inspections in a row, according to figures from Labour.

ANYONE with first-hand experience of the NHS can tell you our health service deserves better.

Waiting lists are rising, appointments can be hard to come by and bed space is at a premium. It is only the dedication of NHS staff which keeps the system from total collapse.

Which is why today’s report by the eminent surgeon Lord Darzi is so important.

He says the NHS needs another £50billion by 2030 or risks bankruptcy, while adult social care needs at least another £10billion.

Theresa May claims she has put extra money into the NHS, but this has been the equivalent of using a plastic cork to plug an oil well.

Government has been given a stark warning. If it really cares for our NHS it will heed it.