Policymakers Must Guarantee Sustainable Health And Care Funding, Says NHS Employers

In response to the Royal College of Nursing’s call for safe staffing levels to be enshrined in law, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said:

“This is an understandable response to our workforce crisis, but the fundamental question that policymakers must address is how they will guarantee stable funding for health and social care.

“The NHS Confederation has proposed the establishment of an Office of Budget Responsibility for Health, and called for urgent action to set out a clear plan for funding social care provision.

“These are essential steps to ensuring that we plan services and workforce to meet the needs of our patients and communities rather than meeting the erratic funding settlements from successive governments.

“The NHS People Plan, commissioned by the Secretary of State, must address the key strategic risks in workforce numbers. Building on the government’s investment in pay for non-medical staff last year, there are key policy decisions which we would like to see taken which would make a difference.

“These include reinstating lost funding for professional development and training, providing flexibility in the use of the apprenticeship levy, reforming perverse pensions taxation and modernising the NHS pension scheme to support retention.”