As we wait to hear more from the shadow health secretary later this morning, let's have a closer look at Labour's NHS plans. The party is promising to
As we wait to hear more from the shadow health secretary later this morning, let’s have a closer look at Labour’s NHS plans.
The party is promising to deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans and appointments a week in England – two million a year – by introducing more weekend services, as well as turning to the private sector. It says the money will come from cracking down on non-dom tax arrangements.
The plan represents an increase of less than 2%, but experts think it could be just enough to get waiting times back on track. Whether it will be achieved is another matter.
Despite receiving more money and employing more staff, the NHS is seeing around the same number of patients for planned care as it was before the last election. There are multiple reasons: the biggest two are perhaps more demand on emergency services and continuing problems with delayed discharges, whereby patients who are medically fit cannot leave hospital because of lack of support in the community.
Labour’s manifesto says the budget will increase above inflation, but that does not tell us much. Traditionally the NHS has got about 4% extra a year above inflation and that has only been enough to maintain the status quo.
To make the improvements being proposed, some say even more money needs to go in or there will have to be trade-offs elsewhere in health. The Nuffield Trust think tank said not spelling this out represented a “stunning lack of detail”.
www.bbc.co.uk
COMMENTS