Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has pledged to cut ‘unnecessary’ NHS managers, improve workforce retention and to give patients private healthcare vouchers if they cannot see a GP within three days.
At the launch of their manifesto, which the party is calling a ‘contract’, Mr Farage called the NHS ‘the big one’ which needs a ‘genuine radical rethink’.
The manifesto included two sets of promises, the first of which was reforms for the first 100 days after the election. These included improving retention by allowing frontline NHS and social care staff to pay zero basic rate of tax for three years and providing tax relief of 20% on all private healthcare and insurance (see box for full details).
The document said: ‘This will improve care for all by relieving pressure on the NHS. Those who rely on the NHS will enjoy faster, better care. Independent healthcare capacity will grow rapidly, providing competition and reducing costs.’
The second set of promises, labelled ‘thereafter’, included a voucher scheme for patients who cannot access their GP or consultant within a set period of time and to cut waiting lists by using Pharmacy First.
It also pledged to cut waste and ‘unnecessary managers’, charge those who fail to attend appointments, and to abolish the NHS race and health observatory.
In its costings, the party promised to spend £17bn per year on the NHS.
Elsewhere in the manifesto, Reform said it would ‘ditch net zero’ to save £30bn per year for the next 30 years, and require independent medical assessments to prove eligibility for benefit payments.
It said: ‘Net Zero is pushing up bills, damaging British industries like steel, and making us less secure. We can protect our environment with more tree planting, more recycling and less single use plastics. New technology will help, but we must not impoverish ourselves in pursuit of unaffordable, unachievable global CO2 targets.’
In response to the manifesto, BMA council chair Professor Philip Banfield said: ‘There are highly ambitious goals in this manifesto to clear the NHS backlog, but scant detail about delivery and nothing about protecting the population’s health or preventing people getting ill – which is key to both easing the strain on NHS services and boosting the economy.
‘Large questions remain about the claimed costs and savings behind some of Reform’s proposals.
‘Of course we want to get NHS waiting lists down, but at a near-record 7.7m procedures outstanding, we must be realistic and not falsely raise patients’ hopes. To abolish NHS waits, you need to invest in rebuilding the NHS, not overpromise the private sector or mass outsourcing overseas as some kind of panacea.’
He added that the health sector is ‘heavily dependent’ on international colleagues and it would be ‘difficult to see how health and care services would not be impacted adversely by far-reaching plans to cut migration’.
Reform UK manifesto pledges:
Despite record extra funding in recent years, NHS healthcare outcomes have declined. While still free at the point of delivery, our healthcare needs major reforms to improve results and enjoy zero waiting lists.
Critical reforms needed in the first 100 days:
End Doctor and Nurse Shortages
- All frontline NHS and social care staff to pay zero basic rate tax for 3 years. This will help retain existing staff and attract many who have left to return. End training caps for all UK medical students. Write off student fees pro rata per year over 10 years of NHS service for all doctors, nurses and medical staff.
Use Independent Healthcare Capacity
- We will harness independent and not-for-profit health provision in the UK and overseas.
Tax Relief of 20% on all Private Healthcare and Insurance
- This will improve care for all by relieving pressure on the NHS. Those who rely on the NHS will enjoy faster, better care. Independent healthcare capacity will grow rapidly, providing competition and reducing costs.
Thereafter:
Put Patients in Charge With a New NHS Voucher Scheme
- NHS Patients will receive a voucher for private treatment if they can’t see a GP within 3 days. For a consultant it would be 3 weeks. For an operation, 9 weeks. Services will always be free at the point of use.
Improve Efficiency. Cut Waste and Unnecessary Managers
- Operating theatres must be open on weekends. Rotas must be planned further in advance. Nail down better prices using economies of scale. Review all NHS Private Finance Contracts for significant savings potential. Charge those who fail to attend medical appointments without notice. Abolish the NHS Race and Health Observatory.
Save A&E
- Cut waiting times with a campaign of ‘Pharmacy First, GP Second, A&E Last’. We will offer tax incentives for new pharmacies and those who employ more staff to assist in relieving pressure on A&E.
Excess Deaths and Vaccine Harms Public Inquiry
- Excess deaths are nearly as high as they were during the Covid pandemic. Young people are over-represented.
Source: Reform UK.
