A MAJOR cash injection for the NHS which could see a long term funding plan introduced for the under pressure health service has been backed by Pershore’s MP Harriett Baldwin.
Prime Minister Theresa May made the suprising announcement on Tuesday when she appeared before the Commons Liaison Committee and told MPs she wanted to come up with a different approach to funding the NHS and social care in the run-up to next year’s government Spending Review.
She said she wanted a dialogue with clinicians and NHS workers, as well as MPs, to discuss the best way forward, based on the health service’s existing five-year forward view, launched in October 2014.
Locally, the county’s hospitals have already been allocated £29million to carry out major improvement projects, new discharge and treatment units at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and a further £4million to plan for extra winter pressures in coming years.
Patients in Worcestershire have also seen the opening of a new oncology centre, a new birthing centre, a new breast unit and a comunity hospital in Malvern but a shock report this week revealed almost 700 patients a month are waiting more than 12 hours in the ailing Accident and Emergency department at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
But the West Worcestershire MP welcomed Mrs May’s bold intervention and said: “We all value our NHS and as it approaches its 70th anniversary, it is the right time to reflect on the best ways to support it to do the best possible job.
“With us living longer, and medical science getting much better, there are inevitably extra cost and demand pressures and this announcement will reassure staff and patients we are committed to fully supporting the NHS.
“The Prime Minister has highlighted this as a critical priority as part of a wider plan to deliver a balanced economy while investing in our public services.
“I hope locally, this will mean that we are able to continue to financially support the plans to improve buildings and services, particularly at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and deliver an NHS that is fit for the future,” she added.
Chris Ham, chief executive of The King’s Fund which works to improve health and care in England said Mrs May’s announcement was ‘welcome recognition’ the NHS could no longer maintain standards of care with its current funding and said it was an opportunity which ‘should not be lost’.
“The service faces a £20billion funding gap by the end of the parliament, and social care needs at least £2.5billion more next year to keep up with demand,” he said.
“The NHS and social care also need a credible workforce plan to ensure that the additional resources the Prime Minister has committed to provide will deliver improved services to patients.”
