More funding unlikely to solve NHS backlog
1 September 2023
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Energy and Environment
Healthcare
Healthcare
4 July 2024
Kristian Niemietz writes for the Spectator
IEA Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz has written for the Spectator on why throwing money a the NHS won’t magically fix our huge backlog.
Kristian wrote:
“In order to entice so many more people to work for the NHS, real wages in the health sector will have to grow at least at the same rate as in the wider economy. More likely, they will have to grow at a higher rate than that.
“According to the IFS’s central estimate, the NHS budget will increase by over £100 billion by the middle of the next decade, equivalent to an additional two percentage points of national income.
“A workforce plan is not legally binding, and there is no guarantee that it will be implemented in this form. But given the special status of the NHS in the national psyche, combined with the sense of crisis around it, it would be politically difficult for any government to row back on this.
“Given how poorly the NHS currently performs despite record levels of spending, there is no reason to believe that just throwing more money at it, and recruiting more people, will be enough to sort it out. Things are, however, bound to improve somewhat once the Covid backlog finally clears.”
You can read the full article here.
Kristian wrote:
“In order to entice so many more people to work for the NHS, real wages in the health sector will have to grow at least at the same rate as in the wider economy. More likely, they will have to grow at a higher rate than that.
“According to the IFS’s central estimate, the NHS budget will increase by over £100 billion by the middle of the next decade, equivalent to an additional two percentage points of national income.
“A workforce plan is not legally binding, and there is no guarantee that it will be implemented in this form. But given the special status of the NHS in the national psyche, combined with the sense of crisis around it, it would be politically difficult for any government to row back on this.
“Given how poorly the NHS currently performs despite record levels of spending, there is no reason to believe that just throwing more money at it, and recruiting more people, will be enough to sort it out. Things are, however, bound to improve somewhat once the Covid backlog finally clears.”
You can read the full article here.
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