NHS finances are in a ‘perilous state’, MPs warn

NHS finances are in a “perilous state” and desperately need a resolution despite receiving an extra £1.8bn for social care in last year’s budget, according to a “damning” report by MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and NHS Improvement were “too focused on propping up the system” and were failing to create a long-term plan.

“The National Health Service continues to scrape by on emergency handouts and funds that were intended for essential investment”, PAC chair Meg Hillier said.

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“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.”

The MPs said that, despite warnings of a looming healthcare emergency, Chancellor Philip Hammond waited until November to announce additional funding.

Hillier said: “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.”

The committee called for the DHSC to produce plans on the future of the NHS by July.

This report comes “amid growing calls from MPs to increase funding for healthcare, with some suggesting a ring-fenced ‘NHS tax’”, says The Independent.

Almost 100 MPs have signed a letter calling on Theresa May to establish a cross-party commission to look into the health and social care crisis.

Signatories to the letter include 21 select committee chairs and 30 former ministers.

Health Select Committee chairwoman Sarah Wollaston, a Conservative MP, said the signatories were calling on the Government to “act with urgency and to take a whole system approach to the funding of the NHS, social care and public health”.

“On behalf of all those who rely on services, we need to break down the political barriers and to agree a way forward,” she said.