REALITY CHECK

You might reasonably assume that a service which consumes almost £170bn of public money means the long-term future of that service is largely assured. Health experts and commentators welcome the investment committed by Government, but the broad consensus is that it remains below what the NHS requires, based on the exhaustive, excellent studies undertaken to determine this.

Much is written and said about the country’s serious funding challenges, and the impact on all our valued public services. The fundamental truth is that the ‘tax take’ is insufficient to meet all our funding needs. According to the OBR and HM Treasury, £132bn was forecast to be borrowed to meet the country’s planned spending in 2023-24.

The insights and statements variously shown on this website evidence the reality and scale of the challenge we face. We do not seek to be selective, pessimistic or gloomy – these are informed perspectives from respected sources. The authors (individual and/or organisation) of these publicly made statements are not connected with Health Mutual, and their inclusion does not imply any knowledge or endorsement of the solution devised.

Put simply, something tangible must be done if we are to protect what we value most about healthcare in this country. Without action, over time, ‘our NHS’ as we know it will likely change and its founding principles become compromised.

Some commentators are calling for the introduction of user charges - for example, paying to see a GP. We believe this can and should be avoided. The case for establishing imaginative, better solutions is therefore strong, and urgent.