Credit crisis ‘threatens NHS funding’

The current financial crisis could threaten funding of the NHS, experts have warned.

John Appleby, chief economist at the King’s Fund, said that while spending is guaranteed up to April 2011, the NHS could expect “no real growth in funding” from that date onwards.

He warned that lower or capped NHS spending, together with the health impacts of unemployment and deprivation caused by the credit crisis and looming recession could be a problem for the health service in the future.

With inflation currently high, the NHS may see higher wage claims and calls for contract renegotiation in the future, Mr Appleby added.

Despite pledges by Gordon Brown not to cut spending on health, the government “may look to claw back end of year NHS surplus funds ? taking back unspent money may not be viewed as a cut”, he writes.

The economist pointed to the government?s financial bailout using £387 billion of taxpayers? and borrowed money claiming it would push national debt to over half the UK?s gross domestic product and would inevitably affect public services.

“It will at some point and to some degree have to be born by the NHS and so it is essential that preparations are made for the inevitable difficult financial and health future,” Mr Appleby concludes.