Boris Johnson was warned by Rishi Sonak about the need to reform the NHS so that patients and taxpayers can get value out of all the billions more being spent.
Sources say that the Chancellor brought up the topic during a cabinet meeting to discuss Covid and future social care.
Mr Sunak pointed out the Treasury has handed the NHS an extra £5.5billion this winter, with £12.5billion a year due to come on stream from 2023 with the introduction of the health and social care levy.
The Chancellor reportedly stressed in the meeting on Tuesday the importance of ensuring the extra billions are not frittered away by the health service’s giant bureaucracy.
Left: PM Boris Johnson was warned by Rishi Sunak (Chancellor), that the NHS would need to be reformed if extra funds aren’t squandered.
Sajid Javid (Health Secretary), pictured. However, the details have yet to be published.
Others Cabinet ministers may have raised concerns about the risk that the government would lose value from this investment without major reforms. Jacob Rees Mogg, Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay, and Kwasi Kwarteng, Business Secretary are some of those who would have encouraged the PM to adopt reform.
Ministers worry that the NHS wait list is growing could be a big issue in the next election.
This new levie is intended to reduce the waiting times by increasing capacity by 10%. The National Audit Office warned that the six-million-strong waiting list could increase to 12 million by 2025, even with the cash injection.
The Chancellor ‘gave a candid assessment of the dangers of being blind to the NHS’s many shortcomings’, The Spectator magazine reported last night. It added: ‘By the end of the meeting, ministers had heard each other say out loud what they have long been thinking – that the NHS, as it stands, is failing.
‘The Government will soon be pouring almost half of day-to-day public service spending into a system which is falling short of what patients and taxpayers deserve.’
A Treasury source denied the Chancellor had accused the NHS of ‘shortcomings’ or directly criticised the health service. They acknowledged that Mr Sunak believed the massive cash injection needed to be in tandem with reform. The source said: ‘The Chancellor believes that as a government, we should be holding ourselves to account in ensuring that we get value for money.
‘We are putting money in to the NHS and we are putting up people’s taxes to do so.’ They added as a result, the Government must make sure it delivers the results that patients and taxpayers deserve.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has already committed to a major reform of the NHS – but the details have yet to be spelled out.
Stairlifts to counter the £2bn cost of falls
Ministers yesterday announced that stairlifts and wet rooms will be built in elderly persons’ homes in an effort to lower the staggering annual costs of falling.
More pensioners will be given sensors and personal alarms to enable carers to check remotely whether they are safe, as part of the Government’s ten-year vision for social care.
However, last night charity representatives praised the scheme and demanded more funds if it was to be able to cater for the aged.
A government White Paper said falls cost the NHS more than £2 billion a year, and increasing funding through the Disabled Facilities Grant for grab-rails and stairlifts could help reduce this
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said there was nothing in the plans to suggest ministers had any ‘real strategy’ for dealing with workforce problems, which will be magnified if Covid surged again.
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that billions were needed to keep councils afloat.
A government White Paper said falls cost the NHS more than £2 billion a year, and increasing funding through the Disabled Facilities Grant for grab-rails and stairlifts could help reduce this.