Spending cuts ‘will test NHS to the limit’, MPs warn

The government's planned spending cuts will pose a "unique challenge" to the NHS and will test health and social care services to the limit, MPs have warned.

According to the House of Commons Health Select Committee, the NHS will have to make unprecedented efficiency savings in order to avoid cuts in services.

Members warned that, while such efficiency gains may be possible, there is no guarantee that councils will be able to sustain levels of social care without altering their eligibility criteria and restricting access.

In May 2009, NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson suggested that the NHS would need to make efficiency savings of £15-20 billion over the next four years.

Stephen Dorrell, chairman of the cross-party committee, observed: "The government's plans for health and social care are based on assumptions which will test these services to the limit.

"There is no precedent for efficiency gains on this scale in the history of the NHS,"

Dr Hamish Meldrum, the British Medical Association's council chairman, agreed that services will be tested to the limit if the NHS is to meet the savings targets demanded by the government.