A new NAO report concludes:
'We are concerned that the NHS may be working at the limits of a system which might break before it is again able to provide patients with care that meets standards for timeliness & accessibility';
So, the NAO suggests either the Govt. ramps up funding quicker/higher than planned, or ways must be found to reduce demand!
The humane (but long-term) way is via preventive medicine, but the short-term 'solution' will likely be explicit rationing!
h/t FT
Both. Reduce demand and increase spending. But thatโs a bigger issue than the health budget alone. Goes back to the notion of joined up government which sounds, well, just a little too unpalatably central planning socialist for the current regime.
It already, implicitly, is. Waiting lists; qualifying criteria; restricted treatment duration (eg immunotherapy). All of which can be bypassed if you can afford it (most canโt).
@GreenerFutures @ChrisMayLA6 exactly!
Criteria for testing for instance are so much more stricter now than what I learned in med school.
You can call it "efficiency", I consider it rationing. Its extremely bad for patients.
If you need to be at an advanced state of the disease to qualify for a test, whats the point of the test then?
I learned in school it was to catch it early and preserve health.
In practice, the criteria barely allow for "early" anymore.
Emeritus Prof Christopher May
GreenerFutures
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