The Health Foundation responds to announcement of new NHS funding from HM Treasury

Responding to the government’s announcement of new funding to tackle NHS waiting lists, Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said:

⁠’We welcome this announcement of significant investment to expand surgical hubs. Our recent evaluation found surgical hubs could speed up efforts to tackle hospital waiting lists.

‘An extra 2 million appointments per year, if sustained for the next five years, could reduce the waiting list for routine hospital procedures by up to 3 million by the end of this parliament. This would represent major progress in tackling the elective backlog, although it is unlikely to be enough to enable the NHS to meet the 18-week standard.

‘While this is a boost to NHS capital investment, it needs to be seen within the context of the £13.8bn maintenance backlog and many years of under-investment in NHS capital. We estimate that between 2010 and 2019, the UK would have invested £33bn more in health care capital had we matched the average across the EU.

‘Today’s announcement should be the opening salvo in a wider programme of investment and reform. We look forward to seeing more detail about the revenue budget for the NHS and how the government will meet its wider health commitments including improving access to primary care and prioritising the prevention of poor health.’

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