‘NHS services have faced funding cuts’
SOME NHS services have faced real terms day-to-day funding cuts in recent years, according to new analysis by a think tank.
Experts from the Nuffield Trust called for investment if more care is to be moved out of hospitals and into the community, but warned the next government has a “mountain to climb” to reverse the trend without detracting from funding pressures in acute care.
According to a report by the think tank, NHS expenditure in England increased on average by 3.1% in real terms in a decade.
The analysis focused on funding for the likes of medicine and staff costs, rather than investment in buildings, equipment or IT.
It claims that, when adjusted for inflation, total funding for patient care increased by 20% in real terms from 2016/17 to 2022/23, an average of 3.1% a year.
However, it said how that growth has been shared between different services “varies quite radically”.
Nuffield Trust examined the funding for nine NHS services over the seven-year period.
It found three areas that experienced annual real-term cuts were public health (3.9%), dentistry (2.2%) and ophthalmic and pharmacy spend (2%).
The largest decrease in funding was felt by the local authority public health grant, which pays for the likes of sexual health and drug and alcohol services, according to the report.
The analysis found this fell by 21% in real terms between 2016/17 and 2022/23, bringing its share of funding down from 3.6% to 2.3%.
Sally Gainsbury, senior policy analyst at Nuffield Trust, said: “For over a decade, policymakers have rightly claimed that if the NHS is to be more than a sickness service, we need to develop and boost services that actively keep people out of hospital by managing longterm conditions in their homes and preventing illness and chronic health deterioration.
“Only by investing in care in our communities – district nursing, health visiting, or speech and language therapy – can we hope to address the many challenges presented by an ageing population and widening health inequalities.
“But our analysis reveals that the opposite is true when it comes to how much money is being invested in different forms of healthcare, with striking falls in needs-adjusted spending per person in key community and primary care services.”
AJUMP in the number of alerts issued to warn pharmacists that certain drugs are in short supply is “just the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the challenges the sector is facing, experts have warned.
The unpredictability of the issue is also a “huge source of worry” for patients, they said.
It comes as analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) found the number of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) – alerts that notify pharmacies that they may need to supply an alternative medication to patients – has gone up by three and a half times in the last two years.
The organisation has called for political parties to commit to tackling the “crisis” in the sector in the run up to the general election.
According to the NPA, there have been 50 SSPs issued by the Department of Health and Social Care between 2022 and 2024 compared to 15 between 2019 and 2021.
The analysis found the alerts were for a range of conditions, including epilepsy, angina, menopause, thyroid problems and depression.
Four SSPs were sent out over a three-day period in May alone, the NPA claims, the same number that have been issued for the whole of 2020.
Paul Rees, chief executive of the NPA, said: “The national warnings are only issued when shortages are at their most acute, with this revealing just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of the challenges facing pharmacies and their patients.
“Pharmacists will always help patients get alternative medication, when possible, but they face continual struggles obtaining supply across an ever-changing range of conditions, from diabetes
Pharmacists are spending hours a day hunting stock and are often forced to turn patients away due to being unable to order in vital medication