NHS leaders strive for a commitment before the 2015 elections
A collection of 21 health and social care leaders have called on political parties to make manifesto commitments of at least an additional £4 billion to fund NHS changes over the next parliament.
The group of organisations supporting the ‘2015 Challenge Manifesto’ include the NHS Confederation, the Foundation Trust Network, the Royal College of Nursing, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, National Voices and Age UK. Creating a list of 15 demands, the coalition aim to get ministers discussing health plans before the May 2015 general elections. They also urged parties to make a public commitment to no more top-down restructures of the NHS, instead encouraging government to put in place a ‘transition fund’ of at least £2 billion a year of new money to invest in more efficient methods of care.
Monetary commitments
Other requests feature commitments on supported self-care, greater use of technology and data, setting out plans to make hospitals sustainable and transition to seven day working.
NHS Confederation chief Rob Webster told the HSJ “We want a debate about the future of the NHS before the election. I cannot think of a time when 21 organisations representing nurses, managers, patients, local government and national charities have come together like this, and I think the politicians have a duty to listen. We cannot just have short term fixes and lurch from crisis to crisis. If we want change – and changes are needed to make the NHS sustainable – we need a one off investment to pay for that change.”
