By 2020 the rising number of older people with long-term conditions will place additional pressures on the NHS budget.
Demand for NHS healthcare will increase by 3-4% but even if there was a certain guarantee of a ring-fenced budget in the next Parliament, in the next 8 years demand will go up by over 25% and there will be no increase in resource. The NHS will have to achieve a significant increase in health care outcomes from the same level of resource but is this possible? Will it be forced to make a choice between a drop in standards or impose new limits on the services offered to patients?
What can the NHS learn from other industries who are also trying to deliver more for less? Other industries have looked at changing the balance between staff and technology, and relying on the customer to do more. Either way, 2020 will have to see a radical change in how the health service works every day. Paul Corrigan, Former Director of Strategy and Commissioning of NHS London Strategic Health Authority and Senior Health Policy Adviser to Tony Blair will explore what is needed to meet the long term resource crisis in the NHS.