Simon Stevens said that the waiting list for hospital operations could hit 5 million, warned the service “has a funding problem” and that spending on the NHS is expected to “nosedive” over the next two years. “We strongly welcome the directness, honesty and clarity of what Simon Stevens has said today. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAUnder current government plans the NHS budget is due to go up from £123.7bn this year to £124.4bn in 2018-19 – a rise of just 0.58%. “The government has rightly supported the NHS through difficult times, it protected the NHS budget immediately after the financial crash, and funded modest growth ever since. So 2018, which happens to be the 70th anniversary of the NHS, is poised to be the toughest financial year.’”

Source: The Guardian November 08, 2017 11:58 UTC