A ‘fundamental change in the way care is provided care for millions of patients’, together with ‘investment in estates, IT, and innovation’, will be needed if the NHS is to ‘close the gap’ between demand and available resources, NHS Confederation CEO, Rob Webster (pictured), warned last month.
His call came as the Confederation made available to its members and ‘partners’ what it dubbed ‘a comprehensive analysis of the main political parties’ plans for health and social care’, produced exclusively for a body which represents over 500 organisations that commission and provide NHS services.
Commenting on the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Labour Election manifestos, and their different plans and pledges for the NHS, he said: “The NHS is facing some of the biggest service and financial challenges in its history. If we are to tackle them, local leaders will need to be given the backing to work with their local communities to transform care. Manifesto commitments must be backed by concrete action from the next government – rhetoric can never be a substitute for reality when it comes to patient care.”
While the Confederation supports proposals to reduce preventable illness, and the increased focus on achieving ‘parity of esteem between mental and physical health’, Rob Webster said there were still ‘a number of issues not addressed’, which ‘must be priorities’ for whoever formed the next government.
On financing, he said: “How much money we put into the NHS is a political choice, with consequences in terms of service offer and efficiency. Where parties have committed to extra funding this is very welcome – we know the cost to other spending departments. What is clear is that the gap between demand and resources by 2020 will be at least £30 bn more if you add social care. That can be closed by two means – income and efficiency. With the extra funding set out in the Five Year Forward View, the NHS will need to find unprecedented levels of efficiency savings of at least £22 bn. If parties put less in, we will need to be even more efficient, or cut services.”
Warning against the potentially ‘disastrous impact’ he believed any ‘centrally driven reorganisation’ would have on local efforts to improve care, he added: “If we are to succeed, the political parties must be straight with the public about the huge scale of the savings and increases in productivity required over the next parliament. It means we will need to fundamentally change the way we provide care for millions of patients, which itself will require funds for ‘double running’ services, as well as investment in estates, IT, and innovation.”
