Royal College of Physicians (RCP) president Professor Jane Dacre provides her response to the UK chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget 2017.
Responding to yesterday's Budget she said:
We welcome the Government’s acceptance that the NHS is underfunded and that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the health and social care sector to meet the increasing needs of patients. The additional funding announced by the Chancellor of £350 million for this winter will in some way help relieve the short term pressures that the NHS is facing, however we are still concerned that this money will not meet the long term transformational needs of our NHS.
Also, many of the current challenges facing the delivery of care are the result of reductions to local authority and social care funding. Without sufficient investment in social care delivery it will be increasingly difficult for the NHS to meet patient need, we look forward to seeing the Government Social Care Green Paper on plans for creating a sustainable health and social care system.
