NHS ‘underfunded by £267bn’ since 1972 admits government report

Health care leaders have given a resounding welcome to the endorsement of the current NHS finance system in the government-commissioned report by former NatWest banker Derek Wanless.

The interim report by Mr Wanless firmly backs increased investment in the NHS based on the current system of general taxation, although it raises the spectre of patients paying for non-clinical services such as hospital meals and computers in rooms.

Publication of the report coincided with Chancellor Gordon Brown’s announcement of an extra £1bn for the NHS in 2002-03 and continued long-term increases. Political briefings prompted speculation the Government might later raise taxes to fund healthcare growth.

The report describes the UK system of funding healthcare from taxation as ‘fair and efficient’. But it says health standards in the UK have fallen behind people’s expectations and EU comparisons through 30 years of underfunding and an organisational system not designed for the 21st century.

In total the NHS has been underfunded since 1972 by a massive £267bn, compared with average EU funding. UK healthcare now lags significantly behind other countries, the report found. Waiting times are longer, doctors thinner on the ground, beds fewer and new drugs scarcer than in comparable countries. At the same time health outcomes – such as life expectancy, cancer survival and infant mortality – fall behind average EU levels.

NHS leaders welcomed the case for more NHS funding but warned that concrete improvements may take years to arrive.

Leader of the BMA Dr Ian Bogle said: ‘The NHS has been underfunded for so long that pouring money into the system is like watering parched earth. Initially it runs off with little obvious effect.’

A spokesperson for the King’s Fund think tank said: ‘Increases in NHS funding take many years to bear fruit.’

Nigel Edwards, acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the debate on how the NHS was funded revealed ‘naivety’. Those who advocated the French social insurance system failed to recognise the facts. ‘It is time to grow up and stop looking for magic bullets. The French have a very good system because they have invested a large amount of money over a long time,’ he said.

Mr Edwards suggested the time was ripe to debate income tax rises to pay for better healthcare.

Wendy Moore

Wanless wisdom

What the interim report says:

The NHS has been underfunded for 30 years to the tune of £267bn.
The UK system of financing healthcare from general taxation is ‘fair and efficient’. No alternative system would be cheaper or increase equality.
People may be willing to pay extra for non-clinical services like computers in rooms.
People in the UK – especially women – suffer worse health than in comparable countries.
The NHS has fewer doctors, fewer beds, longer waiting times and worse equipment than other similar health services.
‘Tomorrow’s patient’ wants better quality care, shorter waiting times and accommodation that is ‘not the Ritz but not the YMCA’.