NAO’s Sir Amyas Morse warns more is needed to meet needs of a changing population
The NHS will require far greater financial support than the if it is to meet the needs of a changing population, the head of Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned.
In the week of the NHS’s 70th birthday, Sir Amyas Morse said there should be enough common ground across the political spectrum to find extra funding and form a new, united vision for health and social care in the 21st century.
“As we mark the 70th birthday, political leaders should be leading a debate about where we want this national asset to go and they should aim high,” the National Audit Office comptroller told the Guardian. “This is a topic where there is a lot of consensus out there. I would like politicians to be willing to think bigger.”
This is a topic where there is a lot of consensus out there. I would like politicians to be willing to think bigger.
Morse’s intervention comes as the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens, confirmed that significant planning had gone in to preparing the health service for a possible no-deal Brexit leading to a shortfall in vital medicines. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn is facing a warning from three former Labour health secretaries that a hard Brexit could damage the UK’s healthcare system.
To mark the anniversary, the prime minister has promised to increase NHS annual spending to £135bn by 2023-24, a £20bn increase on this year’s budget, and equivalent to an average annual increase of 3.4%.
He wants ministers and NHS leaders to transform the way the service works by offering patients far more healthcare at home instead of in hospitals, in order to keep people healthier and independent for longer and avoid costly and potentially dangerous stays in hospital. The NHS also needs to make a huge leap in the amount of . Only one in four adults and children who are troubled get help from the NHS.