Mind the gap: The case for more funding for health and care
Article
Since the creation of the NHS in 1948, spending on health in the UK has grown, on average, by 3.7 per cent per annum, with similar pressures on social care spend, as a result of demographics, rising expectations, and new treatments and technologies coming on stream.
In the wake of the financial crisis in 2010/11 however, while pressures on the system remained, the funding settlement for health and care changed. The NHS is now well into its most austere decade ever and, with the exception of 2015/16, social care funding has declined year on year since 2010.
This paper argues that without further investment in health and care there the health and care service will continue to lag behind the curve. Better quality care will be technically and scientifically possible but will not be delivered without an increase in funding. The evidence suggests that the combined funding gap in health and care will increase to £8.4 billion in 2020/2021 and £28.6 billion in 2030/31.
Related items
Transformed by AI: How generative artificial intelligence could affect work in the UK – and how to manage it
Technological change is a good thing. It has brought exponential gains to living standards and is the foundation of modern society. Yet unmanaged technological change has always come with risks and disruptions.Celebrating 20 years of IPPR North
For two decades IPPR North has been at the centre of the debate about how to rebalance England's regions. Here we take stock of how far we have come and the role we have played in shaping the "levelling up" debate.Costing the Rwanda plan
Total payments to Rwanda for removing this cohort of people could range between £1.1 billion and £3.9 billion.