NHS deficit 2018 doubled

The NHS deficit 2018 is reportedly double the planned deficit, which is more grim news for the struggling health services.

The combined deficit was planned to be at £460m, but it has ended up being £960m instead; almost double the deficit that was accounted for.

There remains a massive gap between the services we’re demanding and the affordability in place to provide those services. The hardworking NHS staff we rely on to provide us care when we need it simply do not have the resources to properly help us, and we find ourselves warning the government again that they must resolve the NHS funding crisis to avoid harm to patients.

Increased patient demand has been cited as one of the reasons for the NHS deficit 2018 overshooting the planned deficit. There continue to be calls for NHS spending to meet European levels with an increase of 5%, but the only increase we’ve seen recently has still been below the minimum requirement of a 4% increase.

It’s simple: our NHS remains dangerously underfunded, and patients are at risk of harm.

It’s understood that even the best performing Accident and Emergency departments are still failing to meet minimum waiting times. We have cuts to cancer care funding and staff shortages across Trusts around the country. It’s an untenable position, and another issue is that the lack of funding and the NHS deficit 2018 being more than planned means patients can be vulnerable to errors being made, which can in turn increase the costs of legal actions that must be brought.

When a patient’s life is turned upside down by mistakes that are down to lack of funding from the government, it’s the government that must be held accountable. We cannot allow patients to be put at risk as a result of the struggling health service. The vicious cycle of falling patient care must be tackled with appropriate levels of funding without delay.