Jeremy Hunt rejects calls for £1bn for NHS in England to cover strike costs

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UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt has rejected calls for £1bn in extra funding for the NHS in England to relieve pressures on hospitals after strikes by doctors, nurses and other staff led to the cancellation of about 1.2mn operations and appointments.

In a letter to health service leaders on Wednesday, NHS England confirmed that the government would give trusts £800mn to help them cope with winter pressures.

However, people briefed on the plans said the majority of the money was not new and accused ministers of “recycling”. The funding announcement includes £200mn announced in September, £500mn from existing budgets and £100mn of new money from the Treasury.

The decision comes as a blow to health secretary Steve Barclay, who had been urging Hunt to lay out extra funding in his Autumn Statement later this month.

After a wave of historic walkouts by doctors, NHS England’s letter appeared to signal a retreat from the ambition to focus on all patients awaiting elective care. It encouraged trusts to devote resources to “high priority” cases, and said emergency performance, capacity, and achieving financial balance, would be prioritised.

Sunak this year said one of his five “people’s priorities” was for waiting lists for non-urgent care to be falling by the general election expected next year. But the backlog has risen in recent months, with official figures showing a record 7.75mn patients waiting.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents health organisations in England, said trust leaders would “feel a deep sense of frustration” over the lack of extra funding.

“The impact of industrial action so far means that efforts to bear down on waiting lists . . . will now not happen as quickly as trusts would like, as targets for planned care are watered down,” she said, adding that the decision would lead to “inevitable cuts” that would have helped reduce costs in the long term.

Consultants and junior doctors represented by the British Medical Association have walked out since December last year in a bid to force the government to improve its pay offer to all doctors.

Even before the industrial action, NHS England struggled to mitigate the effect of high inflation on its budget. The system’s budget will reach £166bn annually by the 2024-25 financial year, up by £42bn compared with 2019-20.

The strikes have led to further pressure on the health service’s budget as it has incurred extra costs paying for cover for striking staff. 

Julian Kelly, NHS England chief financial officer, told a board meeting last month that the strike action had cost an estimated £1.1bn up to July.

Talks over pay are taking place between the government and the BMA after senior consultants offered to pause further strike action. Junior doctors are also engaging in negotiations. Nurses and other staff have already agreed pay deals.

Sally Warren, director of policy at the King’s Fund think-tank, said the letter would lead to a “reprioritisation process” in hospitals.

“This winter healthcare leaders may have to abandon their plans to install additional beds, hire more staff and bring in support from voluntary organisations — measures the NHS traditionally uses to get through seasonal pressures,” she said.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are backing the NHS and social care with record funding and have invested up to £14.1bn to tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic and cut waiting lists.

“We are also working with NHS England to mitigate the impact of industrial action to ensure that patients continue to receive the highest quality care over the coming months and ease pressure on hospitals.”

The Treasury was contacted for comment.