Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson, has said the funding shortfall facing the NHS in England ‘ties the hands of NHS staff across Wearside’.

New figures show the NHS in England is set to see a £1.2 billion shortfall in its budgets for the next financial year.

Figures published by the Tory-led government’s own Office of Budget Responsibility have revealed that forecast inflation of 2.5% for next year will outweigh the previously proposed 2.0% increase in health spending for the NHS England, leading to a£0.5 billion cut.

Meanwhile, the government’s ‘double counting’ of social care funding in both the NHS England and local government budgets has left the NHS in England witha further cut of £700m.

Therefore, the total cut to the NHS in England by the Tory-led government is:
– Inflationary cut: £0.5 Billion
– Double counting cut: £0.7 Billion
–Total NHS cut: £1.2 Billion

Commenting on the new figures, Bridget said:

“David Cameron promised to protect the NHS; the projected shortfall in funding clearly shows the opposite.

“It’s clear that any shortfall in funding ties the hands of NHS staff across Wearside and could lead to a reduction in local services.

“I am anxious about what this real-terms cut will mean for our area, and have written to the Chief Executive of NHS South of Tyne and Wear asking for urgent answers on the impact this could have on our local NHS, including patient care and frontline jobs”.