This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Time to scrap ‘feast or famine’ NHS approach
Appearing on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it is time to scrap the ‘feast or famine’ approach to funding the NHS, but conceded taxes may have to rise to pay for a funding increase.
Responding to speculation that the government could back a ring-fenced tax rise to provide further investment, Hunt said a long-term deal would enable proper planning to train the staff necessary to cope with the challenges of the nation’s ageing population.
In the next 10 years there will be one million more people aged over 75 in the UK, Hunt said the possibility of a tax earmarked for the health service was popular with voters, but warned against a Sunday Times report suggesting the government is planning to announce up to £4 billion per year extra for the NHS for the next 10 years, calling the claims ‘premature’.
He said: “If you ask the public about the NHS, they are very clear that they would like to see more money going to the NHS, they would be prepared to see some of their own taxes going into the NHS, but they are very clear they want to know that money is actually going into the NHS and social care system. They want to know that the NHS is going to reform, tackle some of the inefficiencies.”
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