Healthcare Vital Signs

Since the publication of the Naylor Report in 2016, the media has been awash with articles on the NHS and its lack of funding. The report, by the former head of University College London Hospital, highlights a requirement for £10bn of investment into the NHS and £5bn in backlog maintenance. Other reputable organisations have also scrutinised the level of investment into the NHS, including the Kings Fund, a charity working to improve health and care in England, which writes that ‘the NHS is going through the biggest financial squeeze in its history.’ This underinvestment has manifested itself in several ways. Various newspapers recently published an article on an individual who slept on the floor of an A&E facility in Hereford due to the lack of available beds. In addition, there appears to be a trend towards a net reduction in nurses. The Times recently published an article highlighting that ‘more nurses are now leaving the health service in England than joining’. This is particularly worrying given the backdrop of an aging UK population. It appears that the government may be reconsidering Private Finance Initiatives to help pay for the provision of new healthcare facilities and ease the increasing strain on the system. Whilst PFIs are kept off the government balance sheet and reduce up- front capital expenditure, they have historically been costly to the tax-payer and may therefore face resistance. Diagnosis We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Please get in touch at NICHOLAS.WEST@CUSHWAKE.COM DIAGNOSIS ON THE NHS 22 | CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD