NHS cash ‘spent on patching up the problems’
Money should have been used for future of service
EXTRA FUNDING handed out to help the NHS get on a financially sustainable footing has instead been spent on coping with existing pressures, a watchdog’s report revealed today.
The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that “repeated short-term funding boosts could turn into the new normal” when funding with a long-term plan would be more effective.
Clinical commissioning groups and trusts are increasingly reliant on one-off measures to deliver savings, rather than recurrent savings that are realised each year, the report said.
Its findings prompted the head of an influential committee of MPs to claim that the Department of Health’s recent cash injections “have been spent on patching up the problems, not preparing it for the future”.
The report came amid fears that the current cold snap is likely to put a further strain on accident and emergency services already dealing with raised levels of flu and norovirus, as the number of flu-related deaths so far this winter rose to 120.
The NHS was given an additional £1.8 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund in 2016/17 ahead of the service having to survive on significantly less funding growth. It was also intended to give it stability to improve performance and transform services, to achieve a sustainable health system.
The report said this financial boost helped the NHS improve its financial position and overall the combined trust deficit reduced from £2,447 million in 2015/16 to £791 million in 2016/17.
But despite its overall financial position improving, the report said the NHS is struggling to manage increased activity and demand within its budget and has not met NHS access targets.
Furthermore, measures it took to rebalance its finances have restricted money available for longer-term transformation, which it said is essential for the NHS to meet demand, drive efficiencies and improve the service.
It said that, for example, the department transferred £1.2 billion of its £5.8bn budget for capital projects to fund the day-to-day activities of NHS bodies.
British Medical Association council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “This report provides clear evidence that investment designed to help the NHS transform and improve patient services is instead being used to fire-fight and meet existing pressures and deficits.
“With pressure on NHS services intensifying year on year, we agree with the report’s findings that the short-term funding is not meeting patients’ needs.”
Meg Hillier MP, who chairs the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “The NAO says the NHS cannot carry on in its current financial position. This will come as no surprise to everyone affected by overcrowded hospitals and cancelled operations this winter.
“The Department of Health’s recent cash injections have been spent on patching up the problems, not preparing it for the future.”