The government has confirmed that it is committing investment to futureproofing the National Health Service.
Investment of £2 billion to upgrade technology across the NHS and £1 billion to deal with the maintenance backlog is being committed, to ensure that the NHS can enact reform and thrive for generations to come. This funding comes as part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ capital boost for the Department of Health and Social Care, which will aim to reduce waiting times and ‘rebuild the NHS.’
The investment will be complimented by the reforms that the government has identified in its 10-year Health Plan, as it looks to make the NHS more efficient for future generations by moving from ‘hospital to community, analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.’ This also brings a commitment to delivering a 2% increase in productivity for the nation’s healthcare system.
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:
“We’re on a mission to fix our broken NHS by driving fundamental reform, to bring our analogue health service into the digital age. We will put the latest kit in the hands of NHS staff and use modern technology to give patients real control over their own healthcare.
“Through our 10-Year Health Plan we will cut waiting lists, reduce waiting times and get the health service delivering for patients and staff once again.”
Funding comes after the publication of a report from Lord Darzi that outlined just how bad the underinvestment in facilities and technology has been, and how it has been stunting the NHS. The government is hoping that Wednesday’s budget has put an end to that, with the move towards improvement bringing changes to the ways that staff work across the health service, freeing up their time so that they can put an increased emphasis on the care and treatment of patients.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also commented:
“We’re fixing the foundations to deliver change – by fixing the NHS and rebuilding Britain, while ensuring working people don’t face higher taxes in their payslips.
“Yesterday’s budget marks a huge step towards that – setting us on the path to make our public services fit for the future.”
