Stormont's health budget needs to go up £400 million every year just to stand still, MLAs told

​​Stormont’s health budget needs to grow by more than £400 million each year just to maintain the current level of service, MLAs have been told.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Feb 2024, 22:28 GMT
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Brigitte Worth, finance director at the Department of Health, told her scrutiny committee that the projected funding gap in health for the coming financial year is potentially as high as £1 billion.

Since the assembly was restored earlier this month, the health committee has been receiving a series of briefings from health chiefs and civil servants on budget pressures facing the sector.

Ms Worth told MLAs “the financial position for health has never been so tough”.

Registrar Jim Khan scrubs up before performing a Laparoscopic Anterior Resection on a patient at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Hampshire.Registrar Jim Khan scrubs up before performing a Laparoscopic Anterior Resection on a patient at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Hampshire.
Registrar Jim Khan scrubs up before performing a Laparoscopic Anterior Resection on a patient at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Hampshire.

She said: “The gap between what we need to run the service we are currently running and what would be needed to run it well has been steadily growing over a number of years now.

“As was the case in 2022/23, we have only balanced the books in 23/24 because of additional funding from HM Treasury.

“This additional funding has been provided in the form of a loan that we will have to repay if we don’t meet several conditions, one of which is the raising of additional revenue in 2024/25.

“While we hope it’s a loan we will not have to repay, it will have a significant impact in the future if we do.

“The £550 million we needed this year to bridge the gap in health finances has been provided on a one-off basis, meaning we are not guaranteed to receive it again.

“That is a significant part of the reason why our estimated funding gap for next year is potentially as high as £1 billion.”

She added: “The other reason for the large increase in our funding requirement is that the underlying level of inflation in health, taking into account growth in demand for our services as well as pay and price inflation, runs at an estimated 6%.

“That is when underlying inflation is closer to 2% than the levels we have been experiencing.

“Every year we expect to need over £400 million more just to stand still.”

Ms Worth said there were difficult political choices to be made, adding while efficiencies would continue to be sought in health services, these would not close the funding gap.

Related topics:MLAsDepartment of Health