IHPN responds to Chancellor's Spending Review

Responding to the Chancellor’s Spending Review, David Hare, Chief Executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said:

“With today’s announcement of above-inflation increases in day-to-day health spending, the public will expect to see clear improvements in their ability to access the care they need.

“The Government have consistently made crystal clear that their core priority for the NHS is cutting waiting lists and getting the service back to meeting its 18 week target.

“Maximising the use of the independent sector is going to be critical in achieving this. Last year independent healthcare providers removed over 1.5 million people from NHS waiting lists and the sector are keen to make an even bigger contribution, as set out in the recent NHS & Independent Sector Partnership Agreement which makes clear the need for local areas to make greater use of the sector to drive down waiting times for patients.

“More broadly, while the Spending Review does commit to a small increase in NHS capital budgets, this will not be enough to meet the huge need for investment in new and expanded NHS services. There is a real appetite in the independent sector to partner with the NHS and invest in new state of the art facilities in local communities all across the country – from hospitals to diagnostics services and primary and community care – and we are committed to working with our colleagues in Government and the NHS to bring these partnerships to life.”