The NHS has emerged as one of the ‘winners’ in Chancellor Rachel Reeves spending review, with a £29bn real-terms increase in NHS day-to-day spending by 2028-29, alongside a £2.3bn rise in capital budgets.
By the end of the period, NHS day-to-day spending will reach £226bn, equivalent to average real-terms growth of 3% per year. Meanwhile, the capital uplift will deliver more than a 20% increase in real terms spending – which the Treasury said represents the largest health capital allocation in NHS history.
The Treasury said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) settlement would support delivery of the government’s Plan for Change, including meeting the 18-week treatment target for 92% of patients by the end of the Parliament. A 2% annual productivity target is expected to release £17bn in savings over three years. Temporary staffing costs will be reduced further by limiting agency use and eliminating temporary contracts in entry-level roles.
However, it said investment must be accompanied by reform and that the savings would support ‘radical transformation’ set out in the forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan and its three shifts from analogue to digital, hospital to community and treatment to prevention.
The settlement includes £10bn allocated to NHS technology and transformation by 2028-29, including expansion of the NHS App and a new single patient record system. Funding will also support efforts to grow the workforce and expand access to services, with the promise of thousands more GPs in training, 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments annually, and 8,500 more mental health staff recruited.
Responding to the announcement, the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) said the uplift in day-to-day spending would raise expectations for visible improvements in patient access.
‘The government have consistently made crystal clear that their core priority for the NHS is cutting waiting lists and getting the service back to meeting its 18-week target,’ said IHPN CEO David Hare. ‘Maximising the use of the independent sector is going to be critical in achieving this.’
However, he warned that the ‘small increase’ in NHS capital budgets will not be enough to meet the ‘huge need for investment in new and expanded NHS services’.
‘There is a real appetite in the independent sector to partner with the NHS and invest in new state of the art facilities in local communities all across the country – from hospitals to diagnostics services and primary and community care – and we are committed to working with our colleagues in government and the NHS to bring these partnerships to life,’ said Hare.
Suneel Gupta, head of private healthcare at RSM UK warned that the boost in funding would be swallowed by existing system pressure and called for more partnership working with the independent sector.
‘The additional funding must be used effectively, including towards greater collaboration between the private sector and NHS, as well as investment in technology to deliver these objectives. It is key progress is monitored closely to ensure they achieve an appropriate return on investment, and relevant parties are held accountable,’ said Gupta.
‘The reform must include breaking down silos in social care, the NHS and wider healthcare industry to allow better connectivity and alignment between social care and the wider health ecosystem. Without this, it’s unlikely we’ll see a notable improvement in end-to-end care for patients.’
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