May 2023
I believe fully in the NHS and its values, and I would like to assure you that the Government is committed to a tax-funded NHS, free at the point of use, wherever and whenever you need it.
I am proud that this Government is providing historic investment in health and our NHS, and is committed to funding our health and public services properly. The NHS is being supported to tackle the elective backlog, deliver its Long Term Plan and ensure it has the resources needed to recover from the impact of Covid-19. Despite difficult financial circumstances, NHS investment has increased every year since 2010.
Locally, the Government remained committed to providing a new hospital in Preston, be that either a rebuilding of existing facilities or their replacement with a hospital on a new site.
The Chancellor made a number of spending commitments at the Autumn Statement, making available £8 billion of funding for the NHS and adult social care in England in 2024-25. As part of this, the Government is investing an additional £3.3 billion in 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the NHS in England. This will enable rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance. This will happen alongside the introduction of reforms to support the workforce and improve performance across the health system over the longer term.
The Government will also make available up to £4.7 billion in 2024-25 to put the adult social care system in England on a stronger financial footing and improve the quality of and access to care for many of the most vulnerable in our society. In addition, Our Plan for Patients put £500 million specifically into delayed discharge in 2022, with a further £600 million this year, and £1 billion next year. This money will directly support discharges from hospitals into the community to support the NHS.
In January 2023, the Government announced that an additional £200 million will be made available to immediately buy short-term care placements to help discharge more patients who are fit to leave hospital and free up hospital beds for those who need them. A further £50 million of capital funding was announced to upgrade and expand hospitals including new ambulance hubs and facilities for patients about to be discharged. This builds on the £500 million announced for discharge specifically at the Autumn Statement, which is ramping up, and the additional funding for next year.
The Government has recently published its Urgent and Emergency Care Plan alongside an investment of £1 billion to deliver 5,000 more hospital beds compared to the numbers originally planned for 2022-23, and to put over 800 more ambulances on the road. This will speed up discharge from hospitals, free up beds for patients needing urgent and emergency care and, ultimately, reduce pressures on hospitals.
NHS England will also deliver year-on-year improvements in A&E waiting times over 2023-24 and 2024-25, as well as improved access to general practice, so that everyone who needs an appointment with their GP practice can get one within two weeks, and those who need an urgent appointment can get one on the same day. Furthermore, a primary care recovery plan will be published shortly to support the vital front door to the NHS through primary care.
It is clear that we need the NHS more than ever, and I believe the Government has taken the appropriate steps to ensure that the NHS has a healthy and viable future.