NHS To Receive £2.5 Billion Funding Boost for 2012-2013
The NHS is to gain a funding boost of over £2.5 billion to deliver services to patients in 2012-13, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced.
£91.6 billion will be given to Primary Care Trusts, representing a 2.8% rise in total allocations. The funding breaks down as follows:
- £87.5 billion for Primary Care Trusts to provide care for local patients, including £300 million for re-ablement services to help provide people with the community care they require to become more independent after being in hospital. This is twice the £150 million that was invested in 2011-12
- £4.1 billion to be spent on dental and eye care, pharmaceutical services and support for joint working between health and social care.
“We are continuing to meet our commitment to increase the NHS budget in real terms. This will mean a £2.5 billion increase next year,” commented Mr Lansley. However, he noted that while the extra investment will give Primary Care Trusts a strong platform to sustain and improve services for patients, “the NHS must still strive to get the best value out of every penny it spends to meet rising demand and continue to improve results for patients.”
Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, this will be the last round of allocations made to PCTs, as from 2013-14 the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for the allocation of resources and pace of change policy to clinical commissioning groups.
“In the future, we want those closest to patients – doctors, nurses and other clinicians – to be in charge of the NHS budget to deliver care for patients. Next year, the NHS will be bringing clinical leadership to the forefront in planning services for patients,” he added.
Meantime, new research has demonstrated that patient satisfaction with primary care medical services remains high across the country, with 88% of patients rating their overall experience as “good.”
93% of patients say they have confidence and trust in the last GP they saw, and 81% are satisfied with their surgery opening hours, according to the first wave of results for the GP Patient Survey, covering July-September 2011, which has been carried out by Ipsos-MORI on behalf of the Department of Health.
The survey also found that 64% of people who have a long-term condition say they feel supported to manage their care, and 93% feel confident to manage their health.
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