Chancellor set to invest billions in NHS as part of 'biggest reform since 1948' in upcoming Budget
19 October 2024, 07:55 | Updated: 19 October 2024, 07:57
The NHS is set to be promised billions in the upcoming Budget as part of its 'biggest reform since 1948'.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves is said to have signed off on the cash boost in a bid to bring down waiting lists.
However, NHS bosses are still not able to say whether it will be enough for Labour to deliver its pledge to hit waiting time targets due to staff pay increasing and the country having an older population.
NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard has said hospital productivity is down and "confidence in the NHS has been shaken" due to the long waits.
But Ms Reeves told the Cabinet this week that the Budget would help "fix the NHS", according to the Times.
Read more: Chancellor Rachel Reeves set to raise inheritance tax in upcoming Budget raid
The NHS day-to-day budget could see an increase of around three to four per cent for this year as well as 2025-26 - totalling £10 billion a year.
However, government sources told the paper this was not the exact figure.
Extra details on Labour's pledge for 40,000 more appointments and operations a week are also expected to be announced.
But senior NHS leaders have said focusing on routine operations could be at the expense of emergency care.
NHS Confederation chief Matthew Taylor said focusing on routine operations "must not be to the detriment of the very real and immediate pressures facing emergency care this winter".
Writing in the paper, Ms Pritchard said the NHS had been told by the government that "there will be no NHS investment without reform".
"Far from being daunted, we welcome that," she said.
A recent review found that, despite the hospital workforce increasing by 17 per cent in four years, surgeons are performing 12 per cent fewer operations and A&E doctors or nurses are seeing 18 per cent fewer people.
But Ms Pritchard argued: "Productivity does not mean asking our staff to do more, but giving them the tools they need - whether it's modern buildings, flexible working or better connected tech - to work more efficiently, and therefore provide better, faster and safe care for patients."
