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Comment and Health

How to use the £20bn NHS birthday gift: an alternative wish list

An extra cash injection promised for the UK's National Health Service is earmarked to go on what it wants, not what it really needs, says Luke Allen

4 July 2018

march for the NHS — Tens of thousands of protesters marched to mark the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service
See LI/CrowdSpark/PA Images

The UK’s hallowed National Health Service (NHS) turns 70 this week, and Prime Minister Theresa May has said that she will be giving it a special birthday present: an extra £20 billion in England per year by 2023. As a result, NHS funding in other parts of the UK will rise too. She wants the £20 billion to “secure the future” of the service while delivering “world-class” care. But she risks failing to achieve either aim.

For starters, the sums involved…

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