NHS is the government’s priority, says Osborne

He said that the government would increase NHS funding by a further £8bn in line with the Five Year Forward View set out by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens, and that public sector workers, including GPs, will continue to receive a one per cent pay rise over each of the next four years.

Osborne said: “This plan requires very challenging efficiency savings across the health service, which must be found. It also requires additional government funding. Out balanced approach means I can confirm today that the NHS will receive, in addition to the £2bn we have already received this year, a further £8bn.

“That’s a further £10bn a year in real-terms by 2020. It is proof that you can only have a strong seven-day NHS if you have a strong economy, and it is proof that the NHS is only truly strong in Conservative hands.”

The Children’s Air Ambulance is also set to receive an extra helicopter as a result of Osborne’s budget announcement.

Commenting on the Budget, Rob Webster, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “We welcome the formal commitment on increasing NHS funding by £8 billion by 2020/21, on top of the £2 billion delivered in this year’s budget.

“The £8 billion needs to come in staged increases and we would emphasise this should reflect the bigger cost pressures expected in the first half of this Parliament. There is an opportunity for a multi-year funding deal to be aligned with planning in the NHS, for example around pricing, contracting and allocations. Through NHS Employers, we will look at the impact of the budget on our workforce.

“The additional funding will also need to account for investment in transformation, to support double-running and other costs that will be needed to move to new models of care. What cannot be forgotten though is the impact that social care cuts are having on the NHS. We need urgent action to look at how we address the gap in social care funding, currently estimated at £4 billion by 2020.”

Daniel Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: “Patients and employers want to see improved and better seven-day services, and what we urgently need to consider is the workforce and pay and contract reform required to support this, especially for medical staff.
 
“In continuing with the work to reform terms and conditions of service in and across the NHS, we now look forward to the publication of reports and the observations from the pay review bodies. Following publication we will be urgently seeking to speak with our trade unions, to ensure we continue to work in partnership to progress pay reforms and service improvement across the NHS.”

Paul Briddock, Director of Policy at the Healthcare Financial Management Association, said: "Today's budget highlights the urgent need for clarity on how and when the £8 billion of funding promised by the government will be deployed. For NHS organisations to implement the wide-scale changes needed to meet the overall £30 billion NHS Financial challenge and become fit for the future it should be front rather than back loaded or risk a further deterioration in the state of NHS Finances.
 
“Increasing demand for services and an ageing population mean transformation of service provision is the key to a sustainable, fit-for-the-future NHS. This will require short term investment before long term benefits are realised.”

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