Health and Social care funding needs a boost

A report by The Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Health Foundation concludes that a rise in taxes will be needed in order to keep the quality of health and social care provided and to meet the growing demands of our ageing population.
It has been concluded that the NHS will need funding to increase by 4% every year for the next 15 years to meet the needs of the UK’s ageing population, and to meet the demands of the increasing number of young adults who live with disabilities. Alongside this, the NHS is likely to require and extra 64,000 doctors and 171,000 extra nurses, with over half a million more staff for social care.
Niall Dickson, head of the NHS Confederation, said “It is now undeniable that the current system and levels funding are not sustainable,” he said. “Without new ways of delivering services and sustained investment, NHS and care services will not cope and we will face a decade of misery in which the old, the sick and the vulnerable will be let down.”
The Prime Minister touched on a long term plan for the NHS in March, but not further detail was given on whether this would include social care. The NHS confederation have recently launched a public petition in which they hope to gain enough signatures to secure a debate slot in parliament, and hope that the government will commit to a funding plan until 2035.