Into the Red? The State of the NHS' Finances
This Nuffield Trust report shows that, after holding up well under austerity since 2010, the NHS’ finances are starting to come under severe financial pressure.
Into the Red? The state of the NHS’ finances takes a comprehensive look at how the finances of the hospitals and commissioning groups that make up the NHS in England have held up under austerity.
Based on audited accounts, it finds that until last year the NHS was coping well with an unprecedented squeeze on funding due to increasing demand on the health service and the consequences of public sector austerity since 2010.
But provisional data from the 2013/14 financial year shows that cracks are starting to show in a system under severe financial pressure.
“Demand for NHS services shows no signs of abating. With hospital finances increasingly weak, growing pressures on staffing, and the goal of moving care out of hospitals and into the community proving elusive, the NHS is heading for a funding crisis this year or next.”
Nuffield Trust has also published the findings from its first survey of 100 health and social care leaders. For the survey findings, click here.