NHS situation harder now than during pandemic, health chief warns

‘We should be realistic with the NHS budget, savings can only ever be a margin of a margin’, says NHS chief Amanda Pritchard

NHS chief Amanda Pritchard said winter planning has begun earlier than usual (PA) (PA Archive)

The NHS now faces a “harder” situation than it did during the pandemic, as inflation drives a £7 billion shortfall in its finances, the NHS chief executive has said.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief, has said services face a tougher time now than they have in the previous two years of the pandemic.

Speaking at the King’s Fund she said: “When I started this job, I think I said at the time, I thought that the pandemic would be the hardest thing any of us ever had to do. Over the last year I’ve become really clear, and have said number of times, its not going to be [the hardest thing], its where we are now.

“It’s the months and years in front of us that will bring more complex challenges and that isn’t to take anything away by the way from just how tough particularly the period of the pandemic was. But it’s definitely proven to be the case, I think it is harder now.”

“Why? Because partly, we no longer have a single, unifying national mission. Instead, we are dealing with paradoxes. We're dealing with complexity and we are dealing with uncertainty.”

Her words come after NHS England said last month impact of inflation could mean a £7 billion hole in the NHS’ budget over the next two years. NHS has also agreed to deliver £12 billion in savings.

Ms Pritchard admitted during the event the NHS cannot always say it provides the care it should to patients.

She said: “We know we’ve got a job to do particularly on maternity services, but not just that, inpatient services for people living with learning disabilities with autism or with severe mental illness.”

Addressing the NHS’ financial situation she said: “I don’t need to spell out the scale of what the NHS is facing and it’s not unique to us, it is across the whole of the economy. I’m sure I don’t need to but I will restate how efficient our model is in getting money to where it can deliver a benefit for patients with admin costs of less than two pence in the pound and below comparable countries.

During the summer NHS England said it would be cutting jobs within its organisation by 40 per cent as part of a savings drive however Ms Pritchard said this would only go so far in terms of benefits to NHS budget.

“..we should be realistic with the NHS budget, savings can only ever be a margin of a margin,” she said.

She added: “It is no doubt that there is a there is a job of work to do to work through the implications for inflation and that is something that we’re in conversation with the government about at the moment, they are aware that NHS budgets will only stretch so far”

Her words come as the Royal College of Nursing closes its ballot for nurses across the country on strike action.

On Tuesday the NHS sent a letter to healthcare leaders asking them to take steps to prepare for potential industrial action in an operation called “exercise arctic willow.”