Patients’ lives are being cut short, watchdog warns
- Jim Mackey, head of NHS Improvement, said the health service was struggling
- He was today addressing the NHS Providers annual conference in Birmingham
- Mr Mackey said the health service needs more money in the upcoming budget
Sophie Borland Health Editor For The Daily Mail
141
View
comments
Patients’ lives are being cut short because hospitals are having to ration routine operations, the NHS‘s financial watchdog has warned.
Jim Mackey, head of NHS Improvement, said the health service was ‘juggling hand to mouth’ and having to ‘deprioritise’ non-urgent surgery.
He said that if the NHS was not given more money in the Budget, in two weeks’ time, there would have to be an ‘adjustment’ of what it was expected to provide.
‘At some point there’s going to have to be an adjustment of what the expectations are.
‘We’re all just juggling hand-to-mouth, none of us really feel like we’ve got a long-term plan.’
Jim Mackey, head of NHS Improvement, said the health service was ‘juggling hand to mouth’ and having to ‘deprioritise’ non-urgent surgery
Referring to hospitals ‘deprioritising’ non-urgent operations – as a way of saving money – he said: ‘If you’re 85 and you can’t walk, we’re going to shorten your life.
‘That’s wrong, that’s not what we all want as society.’
Mr Mackey was addressing the NHS Providers annual conference in Birmingham, which represents 230 hospital, ambulance and community trusts.
Infection levels starting to rise
In a separate intervention, the chief executive of NHS Providers, warned hospital death rates and infection levels were starting to rise.
-
Now pregnant women are told they SHOULD eat oily fish:…
Listening to too much Christmas music is BAD for your mental…
Indian man, 45, suffers a STROKE after years of having four…
New drug that could be as effective for weight loss as the…
Chris Hopson also said that targets on cancer treatment, mixed sex wards and waiting times were ‘starting to slip back at an increasing pace.’
Extra investment needed
He claimed the UK would need to invest an extra £900 per patient to match the healthcare spending in Germany.
IS THE NHS WASTING ITS OWN MONEY?
The NHS is struggling to meet the needs of the rising, ageing population on top of having to pay for more expensive new medicines and procedures.
Although the Government has recently injected more cash – an extra £8 billion was promised by 2020 – healthcare leaders say this wont be enough.
But the NHS has also been accused of wasting its money and figures only last week showed it was losing £1 billion to fraud.
A separate analysis last month showed hospitals’ inefficient operating theatres were wasting £130 million a year.
The NHS is struggling to meet the needs of the rising, ageing population on top of having to pay for more expensive new medicines and procedures.
Although the Government has recently injected more cash – an extra £8 billion was promised by 2020 – healthcare leaders say this wont be enough.
But the NHS has also been accused of wasting its money and figures only last week showed it was losing £1 billion to fraud.
A separate analysis last month showed hospitals’ inefficient operating theatres were wasting £130 million a year.
How much does the UK spend on healthcare?
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the UK spends an average of £2,777 per person on healthcare each year, which is the NHS and private combined.
But Mr Hopson claimed that France spent an extra £300 per head and Germany an additional £900 per head.
He said: ‘The simple point is that if we want the best care, we have to pay for it.
‘We have now reached a point where it is no longer possible to meet those NHS constitutional performance standards on current funding levels.
‘The the hard fought gains of the 2000s across a range of measures – for example, waiting times and single sex wards – are starting to slip back at increasing pace.’
Share or comment on this article
- Texting at the wheel? Why not go the whole hog and fire a…
- Police order man, 21, who urinated on Cenotaph on…
- Teachers are told to allow primary school pupils to…
- Proof that Boris DID meet Maltese academic suspected by…
- Amazon customer is stunned when delivery firm uses 45FEET…
- The toxic tweets of Putin’s pro-Brexit troll factory…
- Put CCTV in all abattoirs to prevent horrific animal…
- Most patients will have to ‘face waits of over FOUR HOURS…
- Leading Brexiteer Gove signals his support for May to…
- Wife of a Tory MP suspended and referred to police…
- Rein in cats and dogs! EU Brexit negotiator Barnier warns…
- Network Rail staff blow more than £460,000 of taxpayers’…
- YouTube lets vile stab vest film stay online ‘because it…
- MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: PM must crush this alliance of…
- Former Scotland Yard chief Sir Paul Stephenson reveals he…
- Judge does not jail paedophile, 60, who sexually abused…
- In stormy waters it’s time Theresa showed she’s the…
- British taxpayers paid for a £300m runway… but island…
Comments 141
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.