BHF comment
Extra £5.4bn to help NHS tackle backlog of care – but more is needed
There will also be additional funding for the NHS over the next three years, it was announced.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the money would go “straight to the frontline” to help provide treatments that people are not getting quickly enough.
In our new report, we estimate that waiting lists for vital heart care could more than double to over half a million people within two years.
The short-term £5.4bn funding increase, which is for England only, includes £1.5bn to help tackle waiting lists for “routine” surgery, which includes heart operations.
The remaining amount will be broken down into: £2.8bn for Covid-19 costs, £600million for day-to-day costs, and £478m for enhanced hospital discharge.
The rest of the UK will get £1bn in total.
We are calling on the Treasury to commit to a clear recovery plan for cardiovascular care alongside a commitment to significant long-term investment in the NHS in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
'Not enough'
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “This NHS funding boost is a welcome recognition that the health service needs more support now to tackle the vast and growing backlog of people waiting anxiously for potentially life saving heart care.“However, this won’t be enough on its own. Delays to heart diagnosis and treatment are putting people’s lives at risk every day. Even before the pandemic, waiting lists for cardiovascular care were too long, and we estimate the backlog of vital heart care could more than double in the next two years.
“We urgently need to see a clear recovery plan that prioritises cardiovascular care, alongside a commitment to significant, long-term investment to help relieve pressures on the NHS. Getting this right could prevent untold heartbreak for many more families.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The NHS was there for us during the pandemic - but treating Covid patients has created huge backlogs.
“This funding will go straight to the frontline, to provide more patients with the treatments they need but aren't getting quickly enough.
“We will continue to make sure our NHS has what it needs to bust the Covid backlogs and help the health service build back better from the worst pandemic in a century.”
THE UNTOLD HEARTBREAK