YP Comment: How should the NHS be funded?

THE National Health Service's indebtedness in Yorkshire needs to be put in context. By the end of the decade, it's set to be £2bn and could only be written off if each person living in the county paid £400.

By the end of the decade, it’s set to be £2bn and could only be written off if each person living in the county paid £400.

They’re unlikely to do so, arguing that they’ve already paid their dues to HM Treasury and that this debt is the legacy of both weak leadership in NHS trusts, and also the absence of any consensus on the long-term funding of health and social care policy to take better account of the growing needs of an ageing society.

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Yet, given the cost of servicing this deficit will only continue to rise and compromise the ability of hospitals to treat the sick and injured, today’s research by the respected IPPR think-tank highlights the need for a long-term funding plan to be put in place.

The dilemma is this. Most patients are incredibly grateful and appreciative of the NHS – this is illustrated by the warmth of the testimonials regularly sent to newspapers like The Yorkshire Post.

Many would say more money should be spent on healthcare because fabled efficiency savings alone won’t be sufficient to balance the books. The issue is whether this can be achieved out of general taxation by the Government reconfiguring its spending priorities – the Tories do remain committed to lowering the tax threshold when the public finances permit – or the levying of a separate surcharge in which the money raised goes directly to the NHS. It is a question which cannot be put off any longer – how much are you willing to pay for the NHS? Perhaps there should be a referendum if Ministers can’t come up with an answer...

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