Ailing NHS needs more than just windfall from magic money tree
It’s a happy birthday for the National Health Service, which is being gifted £20 billion extra a year in funding to help deal with its fragile, ageing condition.
But there are heavy costs attached to the Prime Minister’s NHS boost.
Talk of a Brexit dividend, which supposedly will help cover the £350million pledge made during the EU referendum, is coming dangerously close to the Government’s own version of a magic money tree.
In the short term, a non-existent Brexit dividend isn’t going to pay the bills. Even if it were to exist in the future, it is unclear – given the fluctuating Divorce Bill and the state of the UK economy post-brexit – what the timeline would be for even a fraction of EU contributions getting redirected to the NHS.
Make no mistake – the annual 3.4 per cent rise for the healthcare service is going to be supplied by stealth taxes and public borrowing. The former increases the burden on taxpayers who, on average, already contribute thousands of pounds each year to fund the NHS; the latter is a burden on future generations.
The Brexit dividend is nothing more than a guise for government to hide behind, as the truth will draw heavy criticism from those who take fiscal responsibility seriously.
While the Government’s spin is cause for concern, equally as troubling
‘An NHS only marginally improved would prove to be extremely poor value for money’
are those who claim the additional £384million per week falls short of necessary investment. If that is not enough to solve the healthcare crisis, what amount is? We’ve seen calls from leading politicians and Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the NHS, to adopt the Institute for Fiscal Studies recommendation of a 4per cent increase long-term – but by the report’s admission, this would only “secure some modest improvements”. An NHS only marginally improved would prove to be extremely poor value for money. The UK ranks in the bottom third of international comparisons for health system performance; modest improvement is still a long way from the top. The NHS’S low bar for delivery remains wholly unacceptable: 18-week waiting times should not be the goal, but a relic of the past.
If substantial spending only gets us more of the same, perhaps it’s time to acknowledge the NHS’S woes won’t be solved though funding alone. As demographic shifts place additional strains on the NHS – fewer workingage people funding the healthcare of an increasingly elderly population – it is time for politicians to consider the fundamental structure of the NHS.
The Conservatives are kicking an extremely expensive can down the road by refusing to couple increased spending with meaningful reform. But it’s not too late. If the Prime Minister wants to top her birthday gift to the NHS, she should consider having the frank conversation about its future, which is desperately overdue.