More funds still needed for NHS

GPs have welcomed the extra resources committed to the NHS by the government, but at the annual conference of local medial committees last week speaker after speaker pointed out that the money going into the service and particularly general practice was insufficient.

And the chairman of the General Practitioners Committee, Dr John Chisholm, said in his opening address that the 35% rise in funding over five years would increase healthcare spending in the United Kingdom to 7.6% of gross domestic product, still below the percentage of several other European countries.

The meeting resolved not only that the extra funding was inadequate but urged the government to use available resources to ensure that basic services were adequate and uniformly available.

Dr Yvonne Taylor (Glasgow) said that the United Kingdom had poor survival rates in many common diseases, there were fewer doctors per head of population than France or Spain, and much of the extra money would be used to wipe out the debt of NHS trusts. “The government is committed to improving the treatment of people with cardiothoracic problems and cancer, but where is the money coming from?” she asked.