Nhs Cuts Start In Earnest

[Analysis]

That's fine, but it doesn't explain why inflation adjusted NHS spending has doubled in 10 years from 5% gdp to nearly 10% gdp.

Perhaps as a question for Analysis. Where did the additional money go when it flowed into the NHS? Is the NHS now twice the size? are generic drugs now twice as expensive?

Also, was PFI on top of this figure? If so what is the full NHS spend when PFI is bought into the equation.

It seems everyone is looking at the NHS and reaching the conclusion that everything is essential and everything is 100% efficient. Nobody appears to be saying, hang on a minute.. the NHS is exactly the same size as it was ten years ago yet our spend has doubled. Lets look at what we have increased spending on in the past 10 years and just cut 50% off the real increase. Surely that has got to be the most logical strategy? Plus it still leave the NHS 50% better funded than it was 10 years ago..

Thanks for the question. Unfortunately I don't know these figures. PFI is definitely expensive, as contracts are very heavily loaded in favour of the investors once the hospital is built. The benefits of PFI as I see it are:

1) Hospital gets built on time, and to spec or there are significant penalties

2) Less capital outlay for the govt up front

Overall, having been involved with one I think it is expensive. As to whether it's worth it or not you would have to ask one of the finance dudes.

The NHS was very run down and it is true to say that the last govt put significant funds into turning this around. It was not unusual for people to have to wait 18 months in a lot of pain for surgery, or to find themselves abandoned in the corridors of A&E. I see at lot less of that nowadays. We also now have state of the art surgical, radiotherapy, radiology equipment etc now rather than the rubbish we had 15 years ago. So much so that we can attract private sector clients into NHS hospitals.

Salaries were absolutely dreadful compared to the private sector a few years ago - few perhaps remember the public outcry for the nurses and firemen who could not afford to buy their own home. Nowadays salaries have improved in the NHS, but nobody in the country can buy their own home!

So I would say that it is a lot better than it was; perhaps people don't remember how bad it was back then. I'm sure it is not 100% efficient, but then neither is any large organisation, public or private. From what I see now I suspect we'll be going back to the two tier system which was developing nicely last time round; rubbish state sector provision and good private provision for those who have the means.