Cash Help for the Cash-Strapped NHS

Boris Johnson is set to announce a £1.8bn cash injection for the NHS, which will be aimed at upgrading hospitals and will begin immediately. This comes after former prime minister Theresa May announced an additional £20.6bn a year for the health service by 2023-4 last year.

Around £850m of the new money will be dedicated to building projects at 20 hospitals and will be spread out over five years. Meanwhile, the remaining £1bn will tackle a backlog of hospital upgrades this year.

Head of NHS England Simon Stevens said the money was a “significant start” to “much needed capital investment.” The Health Foundation nevertheless pointed out that “this extra money risks being little more than a drop in the ocean” as a result of “years of under-investment in the NHS’s infrastructure”.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is also expected to announce pension changes to NHS staff aimed at ending staffing problems this week.

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