The Conservatives plan to increases spending and the number of NHS nurses and doctors by more than 100,000 professionals by the end of the next parliament, according to their manifesto released today.
“We will continue to increase NHS spending above inflation in each year of the next Parliament,” the Conservatives said in their manifesto.
The manifesto also said; “By the end of the next Parliament, there will be 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors in the NHS than in 2023.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) launched the manifesto today, but his speech was not available on the Conservative Party website, though the manifesto was.
The headline announcement from the manifesto appeared to be a reduction in National Insurance.
The manifesto promised to: “Cut tax for workers by taking another 2p off employee National Insurance so that we will have halved it from 12% at the beginning of this year to 6% by April 2027, a total tax cut of £1,350 for the average worker on £35,000.”
The issue of health and the NHS is addressed in a three-page section, with the cover page starting on page 39 of the manifesto, under the title: ‘Our plan to deliver better health and social care’.
The NHS is mentioned 56 times in the 80-page document.
On expanding facilities, the manifesto says: “We will invest in more and better facilities, continuing to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 and investing proportionately more in out-of-hospital services over time.
“We will modernise NHS primary care services and bring health and care closer to patients.”
Dental care
And for dental care, the manifesto said; “Our Dental Recovery Plan will unlock 2.5 million more NHS dental appointments, through a patient premium to encourage dentists to take on new NHS patients.”
The party said it would also seek cost savings by reducing the number of managers.
“We will cut waste and bureaucracy in the NHS, reducing the number of managers by 5,500, releasing £550m for frontline services and simplifying and streamlining oversight and accountability.”
Infected blood scandal
On the infected blood scandal, the Conservatives noted that as one of the last acts of Parliament, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority was created and has Sir Robert Francis as its interim chairman.
“We will pay comprehensive compensation to those infected and those affected by this scandal, accepting the principles recommended by the Inquiry.
“Whatever it costs to deliver the scheme, we will pay it.
“We will also give a further £210,000 interim payment to living infected beneficiaries – those registered with existing infected blood support schemes as well as those who register with a support scheme before the final scheme becomes operational and the estates of those who pass away between now and payments being made.
“A scandal like this must never be allowed to happen again, so we will study the Inquiry’s wide-ranging recommendations and provide a full response to the Inquiry.”
Immigration and the NHS
On the matter of immigration, the Conservative manifesto states that it will: “Introduce a legal cap on migration to guarantee that numbers will fall every year, so public services are protected while bringing in the skills our businesses and NHS needs.
It states: “We have taken steps to ensure those coming to the UK do not place a burden on the NHS, by requiring them to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and increasing this to £1,035.
“We will go further, in line with other countries, by requiring migrants to undergo a health check in advance of travel and increasing their Immigration Health Surcharge or requiring them to buy health insurance if they are likely to be a burden on the NHS.”
Other manifestos
Health & Protection also reported on the Liberal Democrats plans for health, which came out in their manifesto yesterday.
The Liberal Democrats placed a £9bn rescue package for the NHS and social care at the heart of the party’s 114-page general election manifesto.
The Labour Party manifesto is expected later this week.
Analysis from the Health Foundation
Meanwhile, the Health Foundation believes that Conservative cuts to benefits will worsen health.
Responding to the publication today of the Conservative party manifesto, Dr Jennifer Dixon, CEO of the Health Foundation, said: “The Conservative manifesto is an ambitious wish-list, but it’s hard to have confidence in delivery when there is so little detail on how the plans will be achieved.
“Economic growth is being held back by record numbers of people reporting long term health conditions that keep them out of the workforce.
“Yet this manifesto offers nothing to get people back into work or improve their health, while deep cuts to benefits will simply drive more people into poverty and worse health.
“Pledges to tackle the NHS waiting times and shift more care out of hospitals are welcome but there is little detail on funding or action to achieve this.
“Evidence suggests that the NHS needs more, not less management. So cutting over 5,000 managers and offering hardly any new investment in the buildings, equipment and technology to deliver these improvements or tackle the NHS’s productivity challenge is not credible.
“Over the last decade, the UK would have needed to invest an additional £33bn in capital to have matched EU levels of investment.
‘While it is positive that the Conservatives have again promised to ‘fix’ social care, supported by a new multi-year funding settlement, it is hard to take this pledge seriously after more than a decade of delay and broken promises.
‘It is welcome to see the Conservative’s pledge to revive the smoke-free generation legislation that was lost when the election was called.
“A re-commitment to restrict the advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar is a positive step forward, although again the question is why this has not already been done.
“These pledges are not a serious plan to improve health and reduce health inequalities, which is long overdue.”
Analysis from the IHPN
Responding to the publication of the Conservative Party’s election manifesto, David Hare, CEO of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said: “We welcome the healthcare proposals set out in the Conservatives manifesto, including the expansion of patient choice rights into community and diagnostics care, and a growing role for the independent health sector in tackling the NHS backlog.
“The cross-party consensus that has emerged on the important role independent providers have to play in improving NHS performance will help add much needed new capacity, offer patients more choice and ultimately ensure that NHS patients receive the best possible service, all free at the point of use.”
