Tax hikes and extra borrowing won't cure 'broken' NHS or prevent 'dire' winter crisis, Labour concedes ahead of Budget
28 October 2024, 23:10 | Updated: 29 October 2024, 09:12
Tax hikes and extra borrowing won't be enough to cure the 'broken' NHS or 'dire' winter crisis, Labour has conceded ahead of Wednesday's Budget.
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The Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to hand billions of pounds to the health service at the Government's first Budget, but tempered expectations on Monday by admitting this would only “arrest the decline” of the NHS.
Labour said the extra funding would not be enough to undo "14 years of damage" inflicted by their Conservative predecessors.
Ms Reeves is still expected to pump billions of pounds into the NHS, giving £1.5 billion for new surgical hubs and scanners and £70 million for radiotherapy machines.
But experts have warned Britain is on course for thousands of avoidable deaths this winter due to long A&E delays.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said “it will take time to turn the situation around” but the injection of funding would help meet Labour’s pledge to deliver two million extra NHS appointments a year.
Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Streeting confirmed he now had the money to double the number of NHS scanners in a move that will help with "improving the productivity of the system".
"The chancellor has prioritised the NHS to root out waste and inefficiency," he confirmed.
"All of our manifesto commitments, despite the challenges we’ve got, stand today," he told Nick, adding: "I owe it to taxpayers that their money is well spent."
An additional £1.8 billion has been allocated for elective appointments since July and the Treasury indicated “billions of pounds” would be invested in technology to help boost productivity across the health service.
Asked if the Budget would “fix the NHS”, Ms Reeves said: “I don’t think in one Budget you can undo 14 years of damage, but in this Budget we’re going to provide the resource necessary to deliver on our manifesto commitment to 40,000 additional appointments every single week, to reduce the huge backlog and as well as the increase in the capital budget to take it to its highest level since 2010 to invest in the new scanners and the radiography equipment.
Speaking to reporters at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, she said staff were using equipment purchased under the last Labour government which should have been replaced.
"It hampers their productivity and efficiency and so as well as the money we need to see reform in the health service, but also modern equipment to get the most out of the qualified staff who are using tools that are not appropriate in 2024," Ms Reeves said.
She added she was “putting an end to the neglect and underinvestment” the NHS has seen.
“We will be known as the Government that took the NHS from its worst crisis in its history, got it back on its feet again and made it fit for the bright future ahead of it.”
Ms Reeves will use her speech on Wednesday to make “difficult decisions on spending, on welfare and taxation” and change the way national debt is measured to give her more flexibility to borrow.
She said: “By making those decisions and putting our public finances and our public services on a firmer footing we can wipe the slate clean after 14 years of chaos and instability under the last government, and do the things that are necessary to get our public services and public finances on a firmer footing, at the same time doing everything they can protect living standards, to begin to fix the problems in the NHS and to rebuild the foundations of our country.”
On a joint visit with Ms Reeves, Mr Streeting said the extra money might not prevent avoidable deaths and another winter crisis over the coming months.
“I can’t promise that there won’t be people waiting on trolleys and corridors this winter. There are people in that position already today.
“We will start planning for next winter, this winter, to make sure we see continued, steady improvement in our NHS
“And what this Budget will enable us to do is arrest the decline in the NHS and start fixing the foundation so we can not only get the NHS back on its feet, but make sure it’s fit for the future as part of our long-term plan.”
He added: “I can’t pretend that we’re going to be able to wave a Labour magic wand and make all of those problems go away this winter.
"There will still be real problems this winter, but we’re not going to deny the scale of the problems, and we are already supporting system leaders, particularly in places that tend to have the most challenge at winter, to try and minimise the risk this winter.”
Asked if the Budget would reduce the level of avoidable deaths in the NHS, Mr Streeting said: “I think 14 years of Conservative failure have kind of led us to the worst crisis in the NHS history, and have broken that fundamental promise that the NHS will be there for people when they need it. That is not the case, universally across the board today.
“It will take time to turn the situation around, but for this winter, in fact, throughout the year, my number one priority will always be patient safety and taking the steps needed to keep people as safe as possible, and also to make sure that for as long as we have people on trolleys in corridors, that we’re taking steps to protect people’s dignity and to provide the best possible support.”
He added that “people know that real change takes time” but the Government was “hitting the ground running”.
Mr Streeting suggested greater use of modern technology and artificial intelligence could improve productivity, rather than simply relying on extra staff.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “We delivered record funding, overhauled productivity and delivered the first NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to support the health service recover from the pandemic and respond to a growing and ageing population.
“If Labour are serious about ensuring the NHS delivers for patients, they must continue this reform instead of holding yet further consultations. The Health Secretary promised no more money without reform – but where is it?”
