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Health service facing £15bn financial challenge

by
10 June 2009

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A report has warned that the health service will have a £15bn funding shortfall in the next decade, posing its biggest financial challenge to date.

According to the NHS Confederation’s Dealing with the downturn: The greatest ever leadership challenge for the NHS? report, the recession and rising costs will create a funding shortfall leaving some “difficult choices to be made”.

The confederation, which represents 90% of all NHS organisations, said that although the next two years will be “tough but manageable”, after 2010/11 the situation will be “very different and extremely challenging”.

NHS Confederation chief executive Steve Barnett (pictured) said: “If [the NHS] does not prepare itself for real-terms reductions, then the mistakes of the past could be repeated and shortages in funding will translate to the kind of across-the-board cuts, which could see waiting lists lengthen, standards fall and dissatisfaction with the service grow among patients and staff.”

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But the Department of Health is trying to manage the problem, with the NHS set to receive a £102.7bn budget in 2009/10, 7.5% more than the previous year.

The year after the budget will increase again by 1.6% to £105.8bn.

Copyright © Press Association 2009

NHS Confederation


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