[EMBARGOED] Ed Davey calls for emergency Health and Care Budget after election to rescue NHS on the brink

EMBARGO: 22:30 Wednesday the 26th of June

• Liberal Democrats call for emergency Health and Care Budget within four weeks of General Election to invest in GPs, hospitals and social care
   
• Ed Davey says “there is no time to waste to fix local health services on the brink”
   
• Freedom of Information requests reveal some elderly patients left waiting ten days in A&E before being admitted to hospital

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called for an emergency Health and Care Budget within four weeks of the General Election, to rescue local health and social care services “on the brink”.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent investment to hire more GPs, increase the number of staffed hospital beds and fix social care. Ed Davey said every Liberal Democrat MP elected will be another strong voice fighting to rescue their local health and care services. He added that whatever the outcome of the election, a package of support is urgently needed to tackle “long waiting times that are leaving people in pain and desperation”. 

The emergency Budget would be specifically focused on increasing investment in health and social care and the revenue measures needed to pay for it. It could be held on Wednesday July 31st, within four weeks of the election. The Liberal Democrats said that immediately after the election, the Government should ask the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to urgently draw up forecasts in time for the emergency Budget.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto has set out proposals for an extra £9 billion a year of spending on the NHS and care, paid for by taxing banks and billionaires. This would fund the party's plans to recruit 8,000 more GPs giving everyone the right to see a GP within a week, increase the number of staffed hospital beds and provide free personal care. The new investment in the NHS and care would be funded through additional revenue raised by closing Capital Gains Tax loopholes and reversing the Conservative party’s tax cuts for the big banks.

It comes as new data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats reveals some elderly patients faced “trolley-waits” of over five days in A&E before being admitted to hospital last year. The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests to NHS hospital trusts, show many patients aged over 65 faced waits of several days at A&E in 2023-24 from a decision to admit to being admitted to hospital.

One elderly patient at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust waited a staggering 10 days (240 hours) in A&E before being admitted to hospital. Another elderly patient at East Kent Hospitals Trust waited over five days (125 hours), one in Lewisham and Greenwich waited almost five days (118 hours) and another at Medway waited almost four days (92 hours). Overall, 13 of the 29 NHS trusts that responded had elderly patients who had waited 48 hours or more in A&E before being admitted.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“It is heartbreaking that so many elderly patients are suffering the indignity of waiting days to be treated because our hospitals have been stretched to breaking point.

“The NHS is on its knees leaving people waiting hours for an ambulance, weeks to see a GP and months to start cancer treatment. 

“There is no time to waste to fix local health services on the brink and tackle long NHS waiting times that are leaving people in pain and desperation. Whatever the outcome of this election, Liberal Democrats are demanding an emergency Health Budget as soon as Parliament returns.

“Every Liberal Democrat MP elected will be a strong local champion fighting to rescue our health service after years of Conservative neglect.”

ENDS.

Notes to Editor:

Freedom of Information data on longest trolley-waits for patients aged over 65 available here. The FOI question asked: “The longest a patient at your trust waited from decision to admit to being admitted in the past financial year. The longest a patient aged 65 or over waited from decision to admit to being admitted in the past financial year.”

The emergency Budget would be much more targeted in scope than a normal Budget, with a specific focus on increasing investment in health and social care and the revenue measures needed to pay for it. It could be held on Wednesday July 31st, within four weeks of the new Parliament. Immediately after the election, the Government should ask the OBR urgently to draw up forecasts in time for the emergency Budget.

Although the Chancellor is usually expected to give the OBR 10 weeks’ notice of a fiscal event, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the OBR makes provision for the OBR to deliver its forecasts more quickly in exceptional circumstances [MoU Nov 2023 update, pp 8-13].

The spending package for the NHS, public health and social care set out in the Liberal Democrat manifesto totals £9.4 billion a year by 2028-29. It includes an extra £3.7bn a year in day-to-day NHS spending, an extra £1.1bn a year of capital investment in hospitals and other NHS infrastructure and equipment, an extra £1bn a year for public health by increasing the Public Health Grant, and an additional £3.7bn a year for social care.

The measures would be funded by policies in the party’s manifesto to:

• Fairly reform Capital Gains Tax: closing loopholes exploited by the super-wealthy by adjusting the rates while increasing the tax-free allowance from £3,000 to £5,000, on top of a new tax-free allowance for inflation (indexation), and introducing a relief for small businesses. This is forecast to raise £5.2bn a year in 2028-29.
• Reverse Conservative tax cuts for the big banks, restoring Bank Surcharge and Bank Levy revenues to 2016 levels in real terms. This is forecast to raise £4.3bn a year in 2028-29.