NHS in ‘survival mode’ as it neglects long-term plans

A new report from the Public Accounts Committee has said that the Department for Health and Social Care must set out plans to secure a long-term funding settlement that reflects real need.

The committee has warned that the financial position of the NHS remains in a ‘perilous state’, despite a rescue fund worth £1.8 billion in 2016–17. With budgets unable to keep pace with demand, the health service has entered ‘survival mode’, remaining ‘too focused on propping up the system and balancing the books’ in the short term than giving necessary attention to ‘transforming and improving patient services’ in the long term.

The report also claims that, with trusts forecasting a deficit of over £900 million in 2017–18, the NHS still has a long way to go before it is financially sustainable.

Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, said: "The NHS continues to scrape by on emergency hand-outs and funds that were intended for essential investment. We have said it before and we will say it again: rescue packages and budget transfers are no substitute for a coherent, properly funded strategy that enables NHS trusts to plan, focus on patient care and lay the groundwork for long-term financial sustainability.

“Government’s last-minute response to what were entirely predictable winter pressures is just the latest vivid demonstration of why fresh thinking is so desperately needed. Our committee has repeatedly called for a long-term plan for the NHS and by July we expect the Department for Health and Social Care to explain in detail exactly how it is approaching this task. Key to this will be securing a funding settlement from the Treasury that properly reflects current and anticipated demand for NHS services.

“But there is work to do on the ground now. It is a basic point but new initiatives devised with the best of intentions are no use if they don’t work in practice. It remains unclear how local partnerships, set up to develop strategy and help to transform services, will be held to account for their performance. This must be addressed. Government should also move more quickly to identify successes in its piloting of new care models and ensure best practice is shared for the benefit of patients across the country."