Johnson pledges extra £1.8bn for NHS ‘thanks to strong economy’
Written by News on 04/08/2019
Boris Johnson has pledged an extra £1.8bn for the NHS, saying the funding is due to Britain’s “strong economic performance”.
The money will mean roughly £3.5m per week this year and will be added to Theresa May’s promised £33.9bn annual increase by 2023/24.
Mr Johnson has been criticised for many months for his Brexit battle bus claim in 2016 that leaving the European Union would mean an extra £350m a week that could be used for the NHS.
Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Johnson noted the pressures, delays and cancellations facing patients in the nation’s health system.
He said these things inspired him to deliver on the promises of the 2016 referendum campaign “not just to honour the will of the people, but to increase the cash available for this amazing institution”.
He added: “It is thanks to this country’s strong economic performance that we are now able to announce £1.8bn more for the NHS to buy vital new kit and confirm new upgrades for 20 hospitals across the country.”
But the pledge is despite a warning from the government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, that a no-deal would increase borrowing by £30bn a year and plunge the nation into recession.
Around £850m of the funding is to go towards upgrades for the 20 hospitals but the Nuffield Trust health think-tank said the committed sum will “only be a fraction” of what is needed for this.
Nuffield Trust chief executive Nigel Edwards said: “This is a welcome down payment on the staggering £6bn needed to clear the backlog of NHS maintenance but it will only be a fraction of what it would cost to really upgrade 20 hospitals.
“Nobody should expect shiny new hospitals in their towns any time soon.”
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the money falls “significantly short of what’s needed to provide quality, safe care to patients after years of Tory cuts”.
“Tory ministers have repeatedly cut capital investment budgets in recent years.
“These smash-and-grab raids have meant over £4bn slashed and seen the NHS repair bill spiral to £6bn putting patient safety seriously at risk.”
Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Baroness Jolly added that Mr Johnson’s pledge “will not be worth the paper it’s written on” when a no-deal hits.
(c) Sky News 2019: Johnson pledges extra £1.8bn for NHS ‘thanks to strong economy’
