Despite heroic efforts made on the NHS frontline, waiting lists grew, A&E performance dropped and the NHS maintenance backlog bill ballooned to £9bn. In June 2018, the then prime minister, Theresa May, announced a five-year NHS revenue funding settlement. NHS funding to 2023-24 increased by 3.3% a year – below the long-term average annual 3.6% increases the NHS has received since its creation in 1948. Rishi Sunak has up to now largely met his pledge of giving the NHS what it needed to cope with the pandemic. NHS leaders can’t build 40 new hospitals or maintain safe estates without the right capital funding.

Source: The Guardian August 07, 2021 23:03 UTC