Additional NHS funding ‘needed to avert crisis’

The government has been urged to significantly increase NHS funding in order to avert a potential financial crisis, according to a leading thinktank.

A new report from the King's Fund has stated that the settlement agreed for the NHS in 2015/16 should be re-opened, calling for an additional two billion pounds in funding to be announced in next week's Autumn Statement.

Recent figures have shown that halfway through the year, provider trusts were in deficit by 630 million pounds, significantly worse than at the end of the first quarter, with NHS performance starting to slip at the same time.

According to the thinktank, an additional eight billion pounds a year will be needed by 2020, which is more than any of the political parties have so far pledged to find. Without this, the future of the NHS could be unsustainable.

Chris Ham, chief executive of the King's Fund, said: "Unless more money is found, a financial crisis is inevitable next year and patients will bear the cost as waiting times rise and quality of care deteriorates."

This comes after a previous report from the organisation last month showed that NHS staff morale is waning as health service performance continues to waver.