As the NHS reaches its 70th anniversary, its finances are coming under close scrutiny by health leaders. Hard-fought gains, such as waiting times and single sex wards are starting to slip back at an increasing pace, and a stark warning has been issued – without a significant increase in funding, patients will inevitably suffer…
More than 600 NHS leaders came together to discuss solutions to many of the health service’s most pressing challenges at the NHS Providers Conference, Birmingham. The conference, developed with input from Trusts, covered a range of critical issues, including quality of care, NHS finances and the workforce challenge.
Delegates heard from a range of influential speakers, including: Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England; Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS Improvement and Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for health.
Simon Stevens, CEO, NHS England, pointed out that 2018 is the 70th anniversary of the NHS: “The question is: will we mark that anniversary proud of our past, confident of our future, and ambitious for the improvements that we know are ahead – or will we shuffle into the new year, recovering from winter, with zombie NHS arguments risen from the dead?” He highlighted the fact that newspapers have been publishing headlines claiming: “the NHS is beyond fixing” – which, he believes, is “patently untrue”.
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