Health secretary Wes Streeting has defended cuts to the health service, saying that the need to improve productivity is a ‘moral issue’.
In a keynote speech at the Institute for Government annual conference this week, Mr Streeting said that the changes meant ‘the NHS is working to financial balance for the first time in years’.
But he acknowledged ‘that isn’t risk-free’.
Mr Streeting said that there were parts of the service that have ‘oversteered’ and are now ‘under-delivering on elective activity’ as a result of the cuts.
‘That’s a challenge, but it’s much easier to solve than a system that routinely spends beyond its means without consequence,’ said Mr Streeting.
Last year, the Government announced the abolition of NHS England and asked ICBs to make cuts, which Mr Streeting said would reduce bureaucracy and improve financial efficiency.
The Health Secretary told delegates that taxpayers’ money must be valued, not used for ‘inefficiency’.
‘How could I possibly justify continuing to employ two teams, doing the same job, sitting a mile apart from each other and checking each other’s homework, when we don’t have enough GPs?’ he said.
The changes to ICBs are ‘also about making sure that every pound going into the service is well spent and spent to the best effect’.
‘This is a system that is rebuilding trust in its ability to deliver to budget,’ he said.
Mr Streeting highlighted a sharp rise in demand for mental health and special educational needs support, with schools, hospitals and GPs expected to fill the gaps, and the state being unable to provide the service needed when resources are limited.
Mr Streeting said the state needed to modernise if it was to meet the changing expectations of public services.
‘In the rest of their lives, people are used to services that are straightforward, joined up, and digital.
‘They rightly ask: if I can track a parcel across the world, why can’t the state tell me what’s happening with my case? Why do I have to tell my story five times? Why do I have to travel, queue, wait, and chase?’ he said.
