‘Legacy of underfunding’ swallows new NHS cash
Much of the government’s extra investment in the NHS is spent compensating for previous funding shortages, a new report claims.
Research by the NHS Confederation finds that much of the ‘new’ money going into the health service is being spent on buildings, increased cost of drugs and more and better paid staff.
However, the confederation, which represents more than 90 per cent of NHS organisations, insists that this investment in staff is beginning to pay off by bringing improvements in patient care.
“The impact of underinvestment in the NHS during the 1980s and 1990s seems to be much greater than was first anticipated,” said chief executive Gill Morgan.
“Much of the ‘new’ money has had to be used to compensate for previous cost-cutting in order to improve patient services.”
Dr Morgan said the figures showed how the criticism directed at the NHS was “misplaced” and unfair. Waiting lists and waiting times had been both dramatically reduced since 2002, despite the NHS facing a “legacy of underinvestment”.
Last year, 73 per cent of the extra £5.9 billion investment was spent on existing services, the research finds, with £2 billion (30 per cent) spent on increasing staff salaries and £1.4 billion (20 per cent) spent on recruiting new staff.
“The results of this investment in staff may not be obvious straight away but we believe that over time the benefits will become clear – more frontline staff who are paid better wages will improve the care that patients receive,” Dr Morgan continued.
“To say that this investment is not delivering better patient care is false.”
The report was welcomed by public sector union Unison as evidence that the “tide has turned” and new investment is now going into recruiting, paying and training staff better.
“The NHS is a human service; it takes care of people and it is people who deliver care, not machines,” said Unison head of health Karen Jennings.
“After years of being starved of cash throughout the 1980s and 90s, we are beginning to see the benefits of greater investment in the NHS with shorter waiting times and improved patient care.”
